


Distance

by esh_maki



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bokuto Koutarou is a Good Friend, Eventual Romance, Getting Together, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, How Do I Tag, I'm Bad At Summaries, Injury, Injury Recovery, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Non-Consensual, Non-Consensual Oral Sex, Non-Consensual Touching, Original Male Character(s) - Freeform, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rape, Recovery, Romance, Self-Hatred, Smut, Suffering, Violent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:01:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 15
Words: 24,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27772675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/esh_maki/pseuds/esh_maki
Summary: In the beginning, Sako Takoya was nice, and cared about Akaashi, but about two weeks into their relationship, Sako changed. He grew violent, and tended to take his anger out on Akaashi. Over the last three months, Sako has been getting worse, and Akaashi has been suffering alone.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 94





	1. Sleepover

**Author's Note:**

> Follow my Twitter [esh_maki](https://twitter.com/esh_maki) for updates on what I'm writing. Or to send me requests for future one shots!

"Akaashi! Where are you?" Sako yells. "You're starting to make me angry! Come out right now!"

I slowly come out from my closet with my eyes glued to the floor. I know I'm about to be punished for hiding.

"Was that really so hard?" Sako asks. "Now I have to spend my precious fucking time teaching you how to be a good dog!" He walks to my dresser and starts to go through my drawers. Knowing what is coming scares me half to death. Sako turns around with a collar and leash.

"P-please no. I'm sorry! I wont ever do it again!" Tears start to flow out of my eyes as I cry silently. "P-please... no... no...I-I'm sorry."

"You won't learn unless I punish you, so I have no choice." he tightens the collar around my neck. "Now be good and don't make a sound useless piece of shit."

I nod. Sako attaches the leash to my collar and pulls me to the ground. He squats down so his face hovers a few inches from mine. Then he slowly stands up and kicks me in the stomach over and over again. I grunt and he stops.

"Did you just speak? I told you to shut your fucking mouth!" He kicks me more, but in his anger he misses and kicks my right arm, bruising it badly. After a while I passed out from the pain.

I wake up on my soft carpet. I look out the window and see the sun has started to come up implying it's time to get ready for morning volleyball practice. I try and move but wince in pain. I lay there for a long time thinking about how I met my boyfriend, Sako Takoya.

He approached me after one of my practice matches and asked if I could teach him to set. I agreed to this because he was incredibly hot. He is at least 6' 4", with a cute face. He had the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen, and his hair. Oh my God, his hair. At the time, it went down to his ears, but he had an undercut. The top part was bleached.

We hung out and got close, I would have considered him my second closest friend, Bokuto being my closest, and best friend. After about a month he confessed to me. I accepted his feelings because, over the short amount of time we had gotten to know each other, I had also fallen in love with him.

After we had dated for about two weeks, he started to change. He started to get violent, although he never left marks. He stopped letting me hang out with Bokuto as much. Three weeks and five days after he confessed, he beat me to a pulp in my own living room. Since that day two months ago, he has become more violent and controlling over my life.

My phone goes off bringing me back to reality. I groan as Istand and reach for my phone with my right hand. That is when I see the massive bruises on my forearm. There is no way I will be able to hide this from the team. I take off the callar Sako left on me and go to my mirror, not surprised when I see my neck also has bruises. I finally look at my phone and see Bokuto calling. I pick it up.

"Hey Bokuto."

"Oh, hey. Why weren't you picking up your phone? Practice starts in like 10 minutes and you're not here yet." he sounds like he is worried.

"I'm just running late. Can you tell the team I won't be there for about 20 minutes?"

"Y-yeah, sure. Are you sure you're okay though?" he asks me again.

"Yes. I said I'm fine, and you know I would never lie to you. I'll see you soon, bye." I hang up before he can respond or ask any more prying questions.

I take off my shirt so I can assess the damage Sako did to me in my mirror. I see that this time, he bruised my entire torso. All the way up my abs, over my chest, and even on my sides I see the black and blue spots. I put my shirt back on and walked to the bathroom to take a shower.

I get to practice 30 minutes late. I put my jacket on and zip it as far as it will go to hide the bruises on my neck. I open the doors and walk in. Bokuto stops in the middle of a drill and jogs over to me, giving me a tight hug. I flinch and groan.

"What happened Akaashi?" He searches my face for any signs of stress or damage.

"Like I said on the phone, I'm fine. Let's get to practice. And sorry for being late." I yell the last part loud enough for the rest of the team and coaches to hear me.

Everyone gives their various responses and we start practice again. The whole time I'm flinching, and holding in groans of pain. Bokuto obviously notices but doesn't bring it up again. That is, until we are running laps at the end and I suddenly collapse on the first lap. Bokuto turns and runs back to where I fell. He picks me up and glances at the coaches, then nods and he leaves carrying me, and without any of our stuff.

After we leave the gym he sets me down. "I know something happened to you last night. You were fine yesterday, and now you're collapsing on the first lap! Just tell me what happened and I'll fix it!"

"Nothing happened Bokuto!" I raise my voice a little bit out of frustration.

"Fine." He says and picks me up again.

Halfway to my house I make him put me down and walk slowly beside him. Once my house comes into view, I see a figure standing by my front gate. I freeze in horror, he never comes two days in a row, especially after beating me this badly.

"C-can I spend the night at your p-place, Bokuto?" I ask. We used to sleep over at each other's houses a lot, but after Sako came into my life I stopped hanging out with Bokuto as much.

He looks at me and sees that I'm frozen in fear. "Sure. Let's go." he grabs my right forearm, right where Sako bruised me.

"Fuck." I whisper under my breath.

Bokuto hears this and instantly stops. He moves his grasp from my arm to my hand, but he doesn't start walking. Instead he grabs my jacket sleeve and pulls it up past my elbow. His eyes grow wide with shock. "When did this happen? Who did it? I need to go break some skulls tonight!" he growls.

"I hit my arm against the cabinets in my kitchen. And no, you don't need to break any skulls tonight." I say while avoiding eye contact.

Luckily Bokuto drops the subject, unlike my hand. He holds it all the way to his house and all the way to his room. He closes the door and stands between me and it, giving me no escape.

"Tell me what really happened. You should know you can't lie to me anymore, I know you too well."

"It's nothing." I insist.

"Fine. Be like that." he says.

We eat dinner with his family. Back in his room he gives me a change of clothes and tells me to shower first. In the bathroom to inspect my bruises again. My neck is now very blue, my arm is even worse, looking more black than blue, and my torso. Oh my poor intestines, my stomach looks worse than my arm, and my sides and chest look like my neck. I also have a few bruises on my thighs.

I turn on the water and quickly wash myself. Once out I put on the clothes Bokuto gave me and decided that there is no way I can wear these. He gave me a pair of shorts that show all of the bruises on my legs and a loose tank top that shows most of my sides. I put my dirty pants on again, as well as my jacket, but I leave my shirt in the laundry bin.

Bokuto is on his phone when I open his door. He glances up at me then goes back to his phone. He looks at me again, but this time his eyes scan me from head to toe.

"Why are you in your dirty clothes, did the ones I give you not fit?" he asks.

I shake my head, but don't elaborate, and he doesn't push the topic any more.

Bokuto puts on an action movie and we cuddle on his bed. I lean on his side and he wraps his arm around my shoulder, luckily avoiding all of the bruises. After a few minutes, I relax and snuggle closer to him. He moves his hand up to my head and starts to gently pull his fingers through my hair. The sweet affection he is giving me puts me to sleep in about a half an hour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading my fanfic. My plan is for this to be about 10 chapters. I might end up being really long, or it could be shorter than that. The updates could be slow because of school, but I hope some people stick around for it though.


	2. Movie Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tigger warning, I'll have it marked if you want to skip it.

I wake up to find Bokuto laying on my chest with our legs tangled together. I shove him off me and sit up to look for my phone. Bokuto slides his arm around my waist, and pulls me back to bed.

"Aah!" I flinch as his arm puts pressure on my injured torso.

Bokuto's eyes blink open. "How did that hurt? I was so gentle."

I look away to hide my lie. "It's just that I wasn't expecting it." I carefully remove his arm from my body. "I have to find my phone and tell my parents that I'm okay. Move."

"Mmmh... no. Stay in bed with me for a little longer." His arm flies back around me.

I groan in pain.

"That was definitely not unexpected." he says. "Take off your jacket." He adjusts so that he is slightly above me and stares into my eyes as if daring me to defy him. For just a second he looks like Sako, causing me to flinch in fear. I reluctantly sit up and lift my jacket up so he can see my lower stomach, knowing there's no way in hell he will let this go.

Bokuto lightly brushes his fingers over my abs causing me to shiver. He uses his free hand to unzip my jacket and take in the full extent of the damage.

"I know you don't want to tell me, but who did this to you? I can help you, but you have to tell me." he pleads.

I look away as tears start to form in my eyes. "I can't tell you, Bokuto. It'll just make it worse."

"Can I take you to the hospital? This looks really dangerous. You could have internal bleeding or something."

I shake my head and start sobbing. Why does he have to be so nice? I don't deserve his kindness. He wraps his arms around me, careful to avoid hitting any of my bruises. I hug him back until I realize I'm taking the kindness I don't deserve. Bokuto tries to hold onto me as I push him away and stand up. He follows me off the bed, out of the room, through his house and into his front yard.

I don't stop or look behind me as I run home. I know he is following me, but I don't care, I won't let him into my house. I can't let him in. When I get home I run up to the door, unlock it, slip inside, and relock it before Bokuto could get in. I sneak to my room, falling to my knees once I'm cut off from the world. I sob silently until my eyes are puffy and red.

Suddenly, I hear the front door open. Then I hear steps coming up the stairs, then in the hallway, then they stop. Right outside my door. I know who it is. I know I have to let him in. And I know what I have to expect when I do.

Sako lightly knocks on my door. I wipe my tears away, stand up, and open the door.

**Trigger Warning**

"Stop crying shit bag. You look so ugly when you cry." He says so I nod and stop. He closes my door and walks over to me. He turns me around so my back is facing him. I feel my pants slip down to my knees.

"Wow, you look fucking hideous." he says. He unzips my jacket and pulls it off of my shoulders so he can admire his art on my sides. "Turn around"

I slowly spin keeping my gaze away from his face.

"That's better." He memorizes the bruises before spinning me back around and pusheing me so my stomach is on my bed. He lifts my hips and inserts himself into my hole with no warning. I hold in my cries of pain as he thrusts angrily into me. Eventually his thrusts become more frantic and less angry.

"Keiji..." he moans and I flinch. "I'm cumming!"

I feel a warm sticky liquid shoot out of him, his thrusts become slower as he rides out his orgasm. The second he is done he pulls out and walks to my door.

"Your dirty ass isn't much better than my own hands, I only keep you around for that fucking mouth attached to the rest of you." and then Sako leaves the room. He leaves me alone.

**Start reading here if you want to skip it**

I crawl under my covers and cry. I wish I had someone to talk to, but then Sako would just punish me. I cry until I hear my phone ringing. I deny the call and put my phone to silent without looking at who called. Why would anyone want to talk to a useless piece of shit like me? I should just disappear from the world and no one would notice or care. There is nothing good about me, nothing that makes me worth love.

I go to sleep thinking about Bokuto, and how I should cut ties with him before he gets dragged down with me.

I dream about Bokuto and I. I stay friends with him, and he goes on to be the ace of Japan's national volleyball team. He meets a pretty girl at one of his away games in America. She moves to Japan with him. Eventually they get married, move to a nice apartment in Tokyo, and have three kids, two boys and one girl. All the while I sit in a dark room all alone, he visits me sometimes, pretty much whenever he has spare time. But then disaster strikes. His wife dies, he starts drinking, he gets fired and loses all of his money. His kids get taken away. He meets with me, and we talk about how he regrets staying my friend, how he should have left me like everyone else did.

He then stands up and walks away to find some other good thing in his now shit free life. I, the piece of shit, go back to my dark, cold, lonely room to suffer until some higher power decides it's time to put me out of my misery.

I wake up in a cold sweat with tears in my eyes. I don't want Bokuto to leave me. I need him, but I'm weak for needing him. He doesn't need me, and that makes him strong. It makes him deserve to live. It makes him deserve kindness from other people. It makes him deserve love, unlike me.

I wake up and find my phone on the floor by my window. I go over to it and turn it on. I see 17 missed calls from Bokuto, and 5 missed calls from my mom. I see messages Bokuto sent me.

_Yesterday, 7:29 pm_  
 **Bokuto:** r u ok

_Yesterday, 8:04 pm_  
 **Bokuto:** ik ur mad but i wanna talk. call me when u get this

_Yesterday, 10:20 pm_  
 **Bokuto:** im srry abt what happened at my house. call me plz

_Today, 5:35 am_  
 **Bokuto:** i hope u make it to morning practice…

Morning practice started at six but I still respond to make him happy.

_Today, 6:57 am_  
 **Me:** srry i wont be at practice or school today. i dont feel good

_Today, 6:57_  
 **Bokuto:** thats ok get better soon!! : )  
 **Bokuto:** can i come over after school

I decide to wait to respond knowing his first class starts in three minutes. I set an alarm on my phone to ring at 8:15, when his class ends, and fall into a dreamless sleep.

My phone's beeping wakes me up. I look and see that it's 8:17.

_Today, 8:17_  
 **Me:** no u cant get sick 2

_Today, 8:18_  
 **Bokuto:** plz…

_Today, 8:21_  
 **Me:** fine but not for long

I turn my phone off again. I stand up and feel something thick and sticky drip down my legs. Last night comes back to me, everything Sako did to me, and everything he said. I walk to the bathroom and get in the shower before the water gets warm. I quickly clean myself out, even though it hurts. I can feel how swollen I am there, and how much my back hurts.

By the time I'm out of the shower, Bokuto is already here. He's in the kitchen making himself some food. I stay by the stairs and wait for him to notice me, just like how Sako trained me.

It takes him a few minutes, but when he does he asks "Hungry? I can make more of this."

I shake my head, even though I haven't eaten since dinner last night.

"What do you want to do? We can watch a movie, or go to the park, it's up to you."

I shrug my shoulders, another lesson from Sako. I am not allowed to have opinions, I like what he likes, and I dislike what he dislikes, even if that means disliking myself.

"Okay, since you don't want to pick, I say movie and cuddles!"

I nod my head.

"What movie do you want?" he asks, just as considerate as ever.

"Whatever you want is fine." I mumble.

He picks an action movie. We sit on the couch, my body pressed against his, with his arm around my waist lightly pressing against the bruises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're enjoying this. Some of the parts were kinda hard to write, but I think it was worth the trouble. I would mean a lot to me if you leave a comment or kudo!


	3. The Alley

I wake up and Bokuto is gone. I look around the room and notice I’m in my bedroom, not the living room where I fell asleep. I pick up my phone and see a text from Bokuto.

_Yesterday, 9:24 pm_  
 **Bokuto:** u were asleep when the movie was over so i moved u to ur room

_Today, 6:12 am_  
 **Me:** thx, im coming 2 school today see u there

I used to smile when I woke up to texts from Bokuto, but now I can’t really feel anything. Standing up felt nice. Maybe I should go to school today. Sako goes to a different school, so I shouldn’t see him during the day. I walk to my closet and slip off my clothes from last night and put on my school uniform. Luckily it covers the bruises from Sako. I say goodbye to my parents on the way out the door.

The second I'm in view of the school I see Bokuto by the gates. He sees me and starts to jog in my direction.

“Hey, hey, hey! How’s your morning been? Mine is great cause you're here!” he greets me.

“It’s okay.” He looks disappointed at the few words I use.

“You missed morning practice, but coach is gonna give you a break cause you collapsed last time you were at practice. Also he says you're responsible.” he pauses, “If you were actually responsible, you would have told me about your bruises.”

I look away, and don't respond. He can never find out. If he does, Sako will kill me, or worse hunt down Bokuto.

“Come on, let's go!” He drags me to our classroom. We sit in our seats and Bokuto talks until the teacher comes in. He keeps trying to talk even with the teacher. This makes the teacher assign him three days of lunch detention, and cleaning duty for a week. Usually, I giggle when Bokuto gets in trouble, but today I just stare at my desk and with no signs of emotion.

Class ends and Bokuto heads to lunch detention. I stay in the classroom. That is until I get a text notification.

_Today, 12:03_  
 **Sako:** come to the front gate

_Today, 12:03_  
 **Me:** im at school

_Today, 12:04_  
 **Sako:** i know  
 **Sako:** front gate  
 **Sako:** NOW!

_Today, 12:05_  
 **Me:** coming

I rush out of the classroom, down the stairs and out the doors. I jog to the front gate and see Sako there.

“Hey Keiji! It's good to see you.” He says in a cheery voice.

My eyes stay glued to the ground. “H-hey.”

Sako grabs my hand. “Come on! Use my given name! Call me Takoya. Please.” I don't respond. “Fine. Do whatever you want. Let's get lunch though.”

“O-okay.”

Sako entwines our fingers and drags me down the road to a ramen shop. It had booths and tables. We sit in a booth across from each other. He orders for both of us, and I eat the food, even though I'm not hungry. While he finishes eating, he starts a game of footsie with me. I'm not into it at all, but I don't know what he would do if I didn't play with him.

When he finishes, we walk out of the shop hand in hand. I start to remember how he was when we had just started dating. When he acted like he cared about me. He pulls me into an alleyway and pushes me against a wall. He leans in towards me.

"Can I fuck you Keiji?"

I nod, not knowing what to do. I would rather be fucked here and now than deal with the consequences of refusing Sako later.

He spins me around so my hands and the side of my face rest on the wall. I get the pleasure of looking at the street and watching people walk by. Any of them could catch us in the act.

Sako pulls my pants and underwear down to my knees. He unzips his pants and pulls them down as little as possible. He bites my neck right above my shirt, and while I am distracted by that pain he enters me. I gasp in pain, but Sako ignores me, like always. He immediately starts to thrust, slowly at first but he speeds up at an almost exponential rate. He moans in pleasure as I groan in pain.

Suddenly, I see a familiar face on the street walking by. Bokuto, walking past the ally with some of his other friends. Ditching detentions I guess. He glances down the alley and we meet each other's eyes. My gaze drops to the ground, but when I look back up Bokuto is walking towards us. Sako hasn't noticed yet. Good.

I shake my head slightly, trying to make Bokuto turn around. The closer he gets, the more fear he can see in my eyes. By the time he is close enough to rip Sako off of me, I have almost collapsed in fear, and he is shaking with rage.

He yanks Sako off of me and throws him a few feet away. Before Sako can get up, Bokuto is on top of him beating the shit out of him.

"Are you the one who beat Akaashi?" He didn't wait for a response and moved on. "You don't deserve to touch him. You don't even deserve to look at him!"

I slide down the wall and start to cry into my hands. Bokuto hears me and leaves Sako in a heap of pain. He notices my pants are down.

"Come on. Up you go." He lifts me up and makes me lean against the wall. He squats down and starts to pull my pants up. He is careful to avoid looking at me, or touching me. Once he is done he hoists me up so my chest is against his. I wrap my arms and legs around him.

"Can I take you to my house?" He asks, mostly out of courtesy, no matter what I say I know I will end up at his house. So I nod and rest my head on his chest just above his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't added summaries to the chapters. I feel like if I have more than one or two sentences I'll end up spoiling it. And if I do one or two sentences I'll just be restating the title with a few extra words.


	4. Bokuto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is in Bokuto's POV.

By the time I get Akaashi to my house, he has gone limp from sleep. I'm going to miss class for this, but it's worth it. Nothing is more important to me then Akaashi Keiji. I get to my house and somehow unlock it. The relief that floods over me when I see my parents aren’t home is immense. I carry him up to my room and set him on my bed. He looked so scared when he saw me, but now, he looks normal, except for the massive bruises on his stomach.

Was that guy in the ally responsible for causing those bruises? Did I interrupt something I shouldn’t have? Is this the kind of relationship my Keiji wants? So many questions run through my head, but I don't dare wake Akaashi up to get the answers. Instead I pull out my phone and call the only other person I can talk to. The phone rings a few times before he picks up.  
“What’s Airhead!” he answers happily.

“Kuroo, something happened to Akaashi. He needs help and I don't know what to do.” I say. I can practically feel his sympathy for me through the phone.

“Does he know you’re telling me? And I assume I won’t be able to share what you tell me with anyone?” his joking tone disappears in a flash.

“He doesn't know. He’s asleep right now. And you can't tell anyone, not even Kenma.”  
He is silent for a few seconds. “Okay. Tell me what happened. I want to help.”

“The problem,” I say, “is that I don’t know what happened. A few days ago he collapsed during practice, then I found out his stomach and chest is covered with bruises. He also has some on his neck and an arm. Today, during lunch, I saw him in an alley with a guy. They were, umm, how do I put this? I guess doing ‘it’. I carried him to my place cause after I beat the guy up he collapsed again crying, on the way home he fell asleep.”

“Did the markings on his neck look like hand prints, or no?” he asks.

“No, it's like a band that goes all the way around, but it's worse on the back of his neck.”

“I don't know. Maybe the guy from the ally is his partner and it's a thing they like to do.” Kuroo pauses. “You have to talk to him about it, and get as much information as you can.”

“I keep asking, but all he says is ‘I'm fine’ or ‘you don't need to worry about it’.” I start to tear up. “Why can't Akaashi just be honest with me. I know something is going on. I just don't know how serious it is, or what I should do.”

“I think, the most you can do with what you know, is stay close to him. Make sure he knows he can come to you. Don't press too hard for information, but keep asking if he is okay. If it gets worse, either talk to the guy, or find out what his name is and report him to the police.” he takes a deep breath. “If you can, please tell Akaashi to take care of himself for me.”

“I will. Thanks, and bye.”

“Bye, Bokuto.”

We hang up. I look at Akaashi. He is curled up on his side with his head tucked under his arms. I push him onto his back. Surprisingly, he stays asleep. My gaze stays on his face as I carefully pull his shirt up to get a good look at his torso. His stomach and parts of his chest started to turn green from the bruises. I run my fingers over his damaged body. How can anyone do this sort of damage, how can anyone endure this sort of damage!

“Bokuto.”

“Ah, sorry. I just wanted to get a better look at it.” I mumble in embarrassment.

“It's” Akaashi yawns. “Okay.”

“So… can you tell me about that guy? Or can you tell me anything? I'm really worried about you.” I'm pretty sure he won’t say anything, but it's worth asking.

“I guess I have to tell you now that you’re involved. He’s my… umm… boyfriend.” he looks at my bed. “We started dating about three months ago.”

“Can you tell me anything else?”

Akaashi shakes his head slightly.

“That’s okay. Are you hungry? I can make you some food if you want.” I stand up, but he grabs my arm. His eyes stay on my bed, but he doesn't let me go.

“Stay with me.” he whispers.

I sit back down on the bed so our legs touch. “I won’t leave you. Ever.”

He pulls me down so that we are laying side by side. He adjusts so that his right arm and leg wrap around me. I guess he just wants to make sure I can't get up. We slowly drift to sleep.

“Kiss me Bokuto!” I wake up to see Akaashi straddling my waist. He grinds his hips on mine. “I know you want to.” he says seductively.

“I can't. You have a boyfriend.” He stops grinding on me.

He cocks his head to the side. “What are you saying? I know I do. You’re my boyfriend!” he leans down and lightly kisses my jaw. He moves to my neck, my collar bone, my chest, my abs. He stops above my pants.

“Can I?” he asks.

I don't know what comes over me, but I nod and he pulls my sweat pants down so I'm exposed. He kisses the tip then licks from the base of my shaft all the way to the top. He then absorbs me in his mouth. I moan in pleasure and thrust into his mouth. How is he so good at this? Never mind, I don't care. It feels so good. He moans as he deepthroats me, vibrating his mouth against me.

Suddenly I feel pain on the outside of my thigh. My eyes open and see Akaashi still asleep, only instead of the peaceful look on his face I remember, his face is contorted in pain and he is twitching occasionally.

“Akaashi. Wake up.” I shake him lightly. “Come on. Wake up.”

His eyes fly open and he jumps off the bed, instantly falling to the ground. His glassy eyes focus on nothing, his hands covering his ears as if he is trying to block out the world. He sits on the floor shaking like that. I get off my bed and go to him. He pushes me away, but I keep trying to comfort him.

“No. No. NO!” he mumbles. “Stop. No. Sako stop! Please stop Sako. Takoya, he doesn’t deserve this. Please Takoya, please.” he dissolves into tears in my arms.

“Akaashi. It's okay. Sako isn't here. It's me, Bokuto.” I say.

At the mention of my name he starts to sob harder. “Sako don't hurt him. He didn't mean to. Leave Bokuto alone. No. Sako, no. Not Bokuto.” he stops trying to push me away, instead trying to pull me closer, mumbling about this Sako guy hurting me.

“It's okay. I'm here. Sako can't hurt me. I'm safe. We’re safe, Keiji.” I use his first name and he freezes. He looks at me, tears still streaming down his face. He crumbles into a crying mess curled in my lap, on my floor, with his head on my heart.

After a few minutes he quiets down to just sniffling. Once he calms down all the way, he falls asleep. I pick him up and move his sleeping body back to my bed. I pull out my phone and call Kuroo again.

“Hey, what’s up Bokuto?” he picks up after two rings.

“We were sleeping and Akaashi woke up from a nightmare. It was like he couldn't see or hear me. He was shaking so hard. He started to say that the guy from the alley would hurt me. He cares more about me being hurt than himself being hurt. Also, the guy’s name is Sako Takoya I think. Kuroo, I don’t know what to do.” I take a deep breath. “I have no idea how to help him and it's so frustrating. I hate this.”

“You need to talk to him. Make him tell you what is going on. Then go to the cops if you have to. From what it sounds like, this Sako guy is violent, so stay safe, and try to keep Akaashi safe too."

"I will. My feelings for him don't help. I'm really irrational when it comes to Akaashi."

"Yeah, I feel the same about Kenma, except he doesn't have a potentially abusive boyfriend." He says goodbye and we hang up. I hope he tells me everything when he wakes up. I won't let him out of my sight until he does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to expand Kuroo and Kenma's relationship more. I really like them. I want them to have a bigger role in the story, I might end up writing a sequel in their POV, but at this point I have no idea if I actually will.


	5. Threats

I wake up and see Bokuto cuddling close. His eyes are closed, and his breathing steady. I slip out of his grasp, open his door, walk down the stairs and leave the safety of his house. If Sako suspects anything, I need proof I wasn't with Bokuto, and better, that I don't know him. I have to keep him safe, even if that means taking the blame for him.

I silently walk home keeping an eye out for anyone suspicious, not that anything could happen to me, I'm too useless to be kidnapped or anything. When my house comes into view I see Sako standing there, just like the night Bokuto walked me home.

“Wow, the bitch finally came home to his master!” Sako growls. “What took so long?” he grabs me by my shirt once I'm in his reach.

“S-sorry. I lost track of time.”

“For two days?”

I avert my eyes, deciding to focus on the tree in my neighbor’s yard.

“Why do you think you can just vanish? You’re nothing without me. Just an ugly piece of shit, destined to die alone. Anyone who says they have any intrest in you besides just fucking you is full of shit. You know I'm right. That's why you stick with me, because I fuck you the best.” He keeps his voice down so that he doesn't disrupt the people around us, but some of them still hear it.

Tears are streaming down my face, not because of his anger, but because I know what he said is true. He takes my hand and drags me to my backyard, not bothering to even go into the privacy of my house. He slides his pants down to his mid thighs, already half hard, then sits on the bench by my door

“Suck it.”

I nod and sink to my knees, I open my mouth and suck on the tip for a second before moving to lick his shaft gently. He moans and grabs my hair, forcing his dick all the way into my mouth. He thrusts so hard I know it will hurt even in a few days. He uses his hand in my hair to shove himself deeper into my throat causing me to gag. The sight of me gagging on his cock makes him cum deep in my throat.

“Swallow it all or you’ll be punished.” he says. “And clean me up with that tongue.”

I nod as I swallow all of his cum and start to lick his dick clean of his own cum. Once I'm done he stands up and leaves. I go inside through my back door and see my mom in our living room. Luckily, she didn't see me and Sako.

“Hey sweetie! Did you stay at Bokuto’s again? You know we don't mind, but it would be nice if you told us.” Mom says.

“Okay. I won't be seeing him for a while though.” I say in a flat tone.

“Oh, is everything okay? Did you guys get in a fight?”

“Yeah.” I say. It's easier to lie than to come out as bi, explain Sako, lie about Sako, and explain how Bokuto comes into the whole thing.

The doorbell rings then. My mom says she can get it so I start to head up to my room. But then I hear the voice of the person at the door. I instantly get chills. Why would Sako knock on my front door, he always sneaks in somehow. 

“Keiji, dear, it's one of your friends. I'm letting them in.” She opens the door. I'm frozen on the stairs. Sako comes in and bows to Mom and says thank you, then heads in my direction. He pulls me up the stairs all the way to my room. He closes the door and leans against it.

“Who the hell is Bokuto! Is he the guy fucking my bitch?” he growls. “Do I have to put him down like a rabid mut?”

“N-no! He is just my friend.” scenes of Bokuto stabbed, shot or strangled in a dark alley flash through my brain causing tears to form in my eyes. “Please don't hurt him.”

“Then never fucking see him again! If you ever see that fucking mut again I'll kill him in a slow painful way, and then kill you.” He demands.

“O-okay. But can I talk to him one more time to say goodbye? Please. One more time. Then I'll never see him again!” I know I'm not getting through to him. I have to think “I see him one more time and I'm all yours.” I mumble the last part.

“One more time? Then you're all mine.” all his anger vanishes, and he nods slowly. “Okay. after tomorrow you will never see him again.”

This time I nod. I have no idea what to tell Bokuto, but I know I have to quit the volleyball club, not like I’ve been going recently. While I am lost in thought, Sako leaves, probably saying bye to my mom. 

I get to school earlier than normal so I can talk to my counselor about quitting volleyball. She says it will take a few days to process, but that during that time I don't have to attend anything for it. All I have to do is tell the coaches that I'm quitting. I fill out the form to quit the club. It asks for the reason I'm quitting, and I say family obligations. Once I hand in the form, I head to my classroom. Bokuto is sitting at his desk with his earbuds in. I walk up to him and tap him on the shoulder.

“Can we talk outside?” I ask.

“Yup! I'm glad you're back at school.” he stands up and follows me out of the classroom. The halls are empty because of how early it is.

“Umm. I'm going to be quitting volleyball.” my voice is barely audible.

“You can't do that! We need you. And who else will set to me the way you do!” he grabs my shoulders. “Why would you quit? Don't you love volleyball?”

“I'm just quitting, that's all. There is nothing making me quit.” I don't want to fight with Bokuto, but this could be an easy way to cut ties with him forever.

“Is this about that Sako Takoya guy?”

I scoff. “No. Why would you think that? I'm quitting. Deal with it.” I didn't want it to come out that way, but I want to protect him.

“Okay. Quit. It's up to you. Just know that no matter what happens, I'll still be your friend, so don’t push me away.” he looks at me with his big yellow eyes that are now filled with sorrow.

“You don't understand what I'm going through. I have to push you away.” I choke out.  
“I would understand if you told me. I want to help you. I know something is going on, but I can't help if you won't let me.” he tells me honestly.

“I can't tell you!” I shout at him. “Don't talk to me from now on, ok?”

The rest of the day is pure misery for me. Bokuto is so close to me, only one desk to my right, but I don't talk to him or even look at him. I eat lunch alone in the classroom while Bokuto plays volleyball with the team. I'm going to miss playing, but at least my one and only friend will be safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw a tiktok a while back. It was my inspiration to write this. 
> 
> Finals start next week so I might write a lot or very little. I usually have a lot of free time during finals, but it's slightly different this year. I'll still post at least one chapter though.
> 
> This is the tiktok I saw https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJXjGgFr/


	6. Bokuto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is from Bokuto's POV again.

I enter the gym at six in the morning just like always, but today is different. It’s the first day of practice after Akaashi quit the team. Everyone was surprised when he came by practice yesterday, still in his school uniform. He greeted them, ignoring me, and went to the coaches. He told them he wouldn’t be part of the team anymore and gave them a bad excuse as to why he was quitting. When he said bye and walked out, everyone turned to look at me because I always knew everything about Akaashi, until today that is. I just shrugged my shoulders and went back to serving.

Even though Akaashi doesn't add much noise to practice, it’s quiet without him. The new setter is nowhere close to as good as Akaashi. Every Time I want the ball I have to remember to not say “Akaashi,” no I have to call out whichever side I'm on. Out of the 13 calls I made, I only got sent six, out of the six sets given to me, I only hit two.

When practice ends and Coach calls me over. “Do you have any idea why Akaashi would quit? He was a strong player, and one of the best setters we have had here in a long time.”

“Sorry Coach, he won't talk to me anymore.” He nods and dismisses me to go to class.

I slide the classroom door open and find Akaashi sitting at his desk. Resisting the urge to say good morning feels harder than flying laps, but I can't talk to him. And if I did I bet he would ignore me.

The rest of my classes until lunch follow that pattern of resisting then rationalizing. After class I head to the bathroom to pee. Once I reach the door, I hear a familiar voice that I have been dying to hear all day.

“I told him Sako.” he stops talking so the person on the other end of the phone can talk. “Yes, I quit.” another pause, this one longer. “No, I can't switch classes this late in the year.” he pauses. “I told you, you don't have to worry about Bokuto anymore.” he pauses again. “Okay. I love you. See you after school.”

I can hear the strain of his voice while telling the person the three simple words that should bring him the most joy. I wait a few extra seconds so I'm sure he hung up. One of the stalls is closed when I walk in. I check under the door and don't see any feet. Then I hear it, the muffled sniffling of Akaashi. When I knock on the door, he stops.

“Occupied.” is the only response I get. I run through my options in my head. One, I walk away and let my no longer best friend/crush deal with his problems alone, or two, forget everything he said to me yesterday, bust down the door, and give him a big bear hug. I don't see a third option that would satisfy the conditions of “no longer speaking to each other” and “save the person I love.”

I kick the door in. Once I can see him I melt with sadness. He is curled on the toilet with his feet pulled up to his chest, one hand lightly holding his phone, and crying silently with his head between his knees.

“Akaashi?” I don't go into the stall. “Are you okay?” I just stand there with limp arms, not knowing what to do.

“I'm fine. Go away.”

“But you're crying.”

“Please go.”

“No.”

“Just leave me alone.”

“No.”

I can see the tension building in his shoulders.

“Why can't you just leave me alone? I'm not worth your time! I'm not worth your kindness! I'm not worth anything! I'm a useless piece of shit who should never have been born! Stop wasting your life on me!”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because you're not useless. You are the best person I have ever met, and if you can't see that yourself, then I'll stay by your side until you can. You have so much talent. You're so nice. You're really brave and loyal. You never break rules because you don't want to be a bother to other people. Without you, I wouldn’t be the ace of Fukurodani! Without you, I would have failed so many classes! I know you can't see it right now, but I need you so much. Today was so hard to get through because I couldn’t ask you for help. It's only half way over.”

He looks at me with confusion written all over his face. “Stop lying to yourself. Please cut me out of your life before you waste everything you have on me.” He puts his head back between his knees and sniffles a few times. He looks up again expecting me to have left.

“I'm not going to leave your side until you tell me what’s going on. I know you don't want to bother me like that, so the sooner you tell me, the less time I'll be ‘wasting’ on you.”

He slowly stands up. But instead of hugging me, or even looking at me, his eyes stay on the floor, and he shoves me out of his way. “You can't do that.”

“You can't tell me what I can and can't do Akaashi.”

“No. You can't. You’ll get hurt, he’ll hurt you. I don't want you to get hurt. That's why I'm going to survive this alone.” he walks out of the bathroom without giving me time to respond. I stand in shock for a few seconds before pulling my phone out.

_Today, 12:13_  
 **Me:** so yk what happened yesterday? It wasnt akaashi. who ever sako is, is the guy who made him do that

_Today, 12:13_  
 **Kuroo:** howd u find out

_Today, 12:13_  
 **Me:** i went to the bathroom and heard him talking to sako on the phone. he said i love u to him. it didnt sound like he ment it and when i went in he was crying

_Today, 12:14_  
 **Kuroo:** how did he react to u

_Today, 12:14_  
 **Me:** he said he was useless and worthless. i told him i wouldnt leave his side till he saw the truth. then he left

_Today, 12:14_  
 **Kuroo:** i think its good if u don't leave him alone rn. if u stay with him itll make it so sako cant get to him and he cant do anything extreme

I put my phone away and I go to Coach’s office to tell him I might be skipping some practices, but I have to keep an eye on Akaashi. He says it's okay since we don't have any upcoming games. After I leave his office I check my phone one last time before class to see Kuroo sent me a text almost ten minutes ago.

_Today, 12:16_  
 **Kuroo:** call me if u need anything

_Today, 12:23_  
 **Me:** i will thx for all the help

I put my phone away and go to class. When I get there, I see Akaashi sleeping on his desk. I leave him alone knowing he is having a hard time right now and it's good for him to sleep.

He wakes up when the teacher comes, but he doesn't acknowledge me. After school I have to split up from him because our lockers aren’t that close. By the time I get to his locker he has disappeared. I ask people who are around his locker, but they all say then never saw anyone go to his locker. I open it to find all of his stuff still there. He left without me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finals start next week. Will that stop me from writing and uploading this? Never! This is my top priority, and it will stay that way until it's finished!
> 
> I set it to 15 chapter cause that's when the main story ends. I might end up adding more chapters if I want to make an epilogue or expand on something.
> 
> I hope you are still enjoying the story. Please leave a Kudo or comment!


	7. Saved

I leave school as fast as I can, hoping to avoid Bokuto. When I see my house I also see that Mom is outside, thankfully alone. She is on her knees weeding her rose bushes and clipping off the flowers in full bloom.

I sneak past her successfully. I get inside and escape to my room to do my homework. Mom comes to check on me and brings me some food. I end up going to sleep around eight without eating. Luckily, Sako doesn't show up today. I guess that phone call at lunch was enough for him.

I wake up and look at my phone. It reads 3:41. I also see a message notification from Bokuto.

_Yesterday, 11:38 pm_  
 **Bokuto:** hey. ik u dont wanna see me so i didnt stop by ur house. i just want u to know that im here for u. i miss talking to you sm even tho its just been a day since u said we couldnt talk anymore. plz dont throw me out of ur life i cant even understand how much i need u. how much ive always needed u

I read the text three times. How can he say that when I've never done anything for him? I block him then go back to sleep.

When I wake up for school I realize I'll have to see him today. I don't want to see him today. If I do, I might regret cutting him out of my life. I tell Mom that I don't feel good and she says I can skip school, but only today. I agree to this and go back to bed. I watch videos on my phone until Mom leaves for work.

Once she leaves, I go to the kitchen to find some food. After searching through all of the food at home, I come to the conclusion that I don't actually need to eat. I go back to my room and start to work on some homework.

My phone rings, breaking my concentration. I look at it and see that Sako is calling, I also see that it's 12:22. I answer the phone as fast as I can.

Before I can say hi, Sako starts to yell at me. “Why the fuck are you not at school? Where the fuck are you? Are you with that fucking bitch theif?”

“I didn’t feel good so I stayed home. And I promised I wouldn't see him again. Also he hates me now.”

He hangs up without warning. I think nothing of it and start to watch a video of one of my volleyball games from last year. Seeing Bokuto, even on a screen, makes my heart ache for no reason. I can't miss him, I don't deserve to. I keep watching just so I can feel something, even if it's just a dull ache of regret.

My body tenses when I hear the front door creak open. Robber is the first thing I think of. That would have been better than who it actually was. I sit frozen on my chair as the person walks straight to my room. I know who it is, I just don't want to believe they would come.

The door opens and I see him. He walks to me and without warning takes a fistfull of my hair in his hand and pulls me to stand. He throws me across my room, by back hitting the wall hard enough to knock the air out of me. He comes up to me and bends down.

“How do you like being my bitch? Is it fun to make me angry?” He yells. “Well? If you like being beaten so much how about I just beat you to death right now! It's not like anyone would miss a stupid piece of trash!”

He stands up so he can kick me harder. I end up falling on my side, covering my vulnerable stomach with my arms and legs. I can't contain my cries in pain as he purposely hits the old bruises that haven't fully healed from last time. Time flows like honey. There is nothing I can do against him. He is strong and I am weak. That's how it's always been, and how it always will be.

After who knows how long I hear a yelp that doesn't belong to me. My entire body feels numb from the constant bombardment of kicks that has now ceased and I notice ringing in my ears. Wondering if Sako decided to give up on killing me, my eyes slowly open. I was expecting to see Sako’s back as he left me to suffer through picking myself up so my mom wouldn't notice what happened to me, but what I see leaves me in pure shock.

Instead of Sako’s thin scrawny back, I see a wide, muscular back. Then I realize that someone other than Sako and I are in the room. With no idea who it could be I lay in silence, with too much pain to move. But then something catches my eye. The tell tale sign of my ex best friend. I see spikey white hair with dark roots.

The ringing in my ears fades. I can hear what they are saying, but my brain can't comprehend it.

“Bokuto…”

He turns to look at me. I thought I said it so quietly he wouldn't hear over his own yelling, but I was wrong. He punches Sako one more time in the face then stands up and practically falls onto me.

“Are you okay? Oh my God! What happened? Why did you leave school without me? I'm so sorry.” He hugs me very gently. “I'm so, so sorry I let him do this to you. I should have noticed when you spent the night at my place.”

All I can do is hug him back. But he pulls away.

“Now that you’re awake, we need to call the cops. Do you have your phone?” I nod, find it on the floor and hand it to him. He puts in the passcode and dials the cops. He answers their questions and gives them my address. When he hangs up he says they’ll be here in about ten minutes.

We sit on the floor, me wrapped in his arms, until he notices Sako start to move.

“Can you do something for me?” he says. I nod. “Okay, come over here.” he leads me to Sako and shows me how to hold his wrists so that he can't get away from us. “I'll be right back. I'm going to find something we can tie him up with.” I nod.

Bokuto leaves the room. I sit on Sako’s back with his wrists held behind him with my hands. He turns his head to look at me.

“You said” he takes a shallow breath, “that that fucker wouldn't be a problem for me. You’re my bitch. I trained you to be perfect for me. Now because of him, you suddenly think you’re better than me?”

I shake my head.

“Then what? Why do this to your dear master. I'm the one who satisfies your slutty desires. I'm the one who treats you right.” He yells.

I stay silent while meeting his eyes. They used to hold so much beauty, now they only fill me with fear and hatred.

“Why won't you fucking say anything! Say something bitch! Respond to your master!” he struggles against my hands. “Come on. You can't think anything will change with him? I'm like chocolate ice cream, and he’s like vanilla ice cream that you mixed with chocolate syrup. The only difference between us is that I'm the real thing. I'm the only one who could ever love a fucking slutty bitch like you!”

I didn't notice Bokuto had come into the room until he spoke. “That's where you’re wrong Sako. You have no idea what real love is like. You treat Akaashi like a sex slave even though he deserves to be treated like a king. I'm nothing like you. I would die for Akaashi, unlike you. You expect him to die for you. Your so-called ‘training’ is just an excuse to take out your anger.”

The doorbell rings. “Will you be okay with him for a little while. I have to go let the-”

Sako cuts him off. “Are you fucking turning me in? You can't do that. What the fuck are you turning me in for? If it's for beating this shit bag, then you should just give up. No one cares enough about him to put me in prison!”

“That's where you're wrong. I would die for Akaashi over and over again if it meant he got to be happy for an hour. You fucked with the wrong person.” Bokuto pauses. “And if you're wondering what proof I have to get you put in prison, well, I left Akaashi’s phone in here to record you if you said or did anything. I only have proof from after I got here, but the bruises and some short audio will be enough to get you put away for a long time.”

“You fucking asshole!” Sako screeches at Bokuto as he walks out my door smirking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The grammar and spelling mistakes in the texting parts hurt me. I hate seeing the little blue or red lines under words, but I want the to text like that so I deal with it.
> 
> Also I didn't realize that Bokuto found out about Akaashi's situation so soon, I thought it would take him at least two more chapters, but this is how it turned out I guess.


	8. Relief

Bokuto came back a few minutes later with two police officers. They say their names are Daichi and Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi-san comes over to me and restrains Sako with handcuffs. Daichi stays talking with Bokuto. After releasing Sako I just stand behind Bokuto, not knowing what to do or how to interact with these people.

“Hey, Akaashi-san. I need to ask you a few questions.” I turn and see Iwaizumi-san looking at me cautiously. Unconsciously I grab Bokuto’s jacket sleeve and he turns at the unexpected touch.

Daichi-san stops talking to Bokuto and lets him come with me to the bed so I can answer some questions.

“When did you meet Sako?” Iwaizumi-san jumps right into the questions.

Bokuto answers for me.

“Okay, and when did he start hurting you?” he asks.

I speak very quietly. “About two and a half months ago.” I glance at Bokuto and see the utter shock in his eyes. I can see him doubting himself. How did he let it go on for so long? How did he never notice me change? Was that when we started to hang out less? I see the questions but know he won't push for the answers.

“Why did you stay with him even though he was hurting you?” Iwaizumi-san asks.

“Because if I left, he would do the same thing to my mom and Bokuto.”

“Do you know if he has done this, or something similar before?” he asks. “And does anyone not in this room know about your situation?”

“I h-had no idea he would be like this. He was so sweet in the beginning. Before I knew what happened I was in love with him, but then he changed, and I still loved him!” I start to shake. “I tried to stop loving him when he threatened Mom and Bokuto, b-but-” I'm cut off by Bokuto wrapping his arms around me. I cling to him crying, as Iwaizumi-san waits patiently for me to calm down.

“No one else knows about this.” Bokuto answers the last question for me. He and the officer exchange a glance. But then he remembers something. “Umm… Akaashi don't be mad.” he prepares himself for whatever he has to say. “I told Kuroo. I was so worried when you wouldn't talk to me. I went to him for advice. He was actually really helpful.”

“How do you know that no one but us and this Kuroo know, Bokuto-san?” Daichi steps into the conversation.

“I'm Akaashi’s best friend, we haven't hidden things from each other since we were five. But he wouldn't tell me what was going on, so why would he tell someone who he doesn't trust as much as me?” Bokuto says. “And I can trust Kuroo. He wouldn't tell anyone, not even Kenma, unless one of us said it was okay to.”

“Okay. We should tell your parents, but you’re almost 18, so we’ll leave that up to you.” Daichi-san starts to walk away, but then he stops. “Can we hear the audio clip you got Bokuto-san?”

“Yeah, of course. But I don't want Akaashi to have to relive that so is it okay if we step out while you listen to it?” Bokuto says, pulling my phone out of his pocket.

“Why don't we get Akaashi-san to a hospital, then we can do it there?” Iwaizumi-san says. Everyone nods in agreement except Akaashi. “Can you walk? Or do you want help?”

I try to stand up but my legs collapse under me. Bokuto catches me and lifts me so I'm on my feet, but most of my weight is supported on his shoulders. We slowly head out of the house and I see two police cars in my driveway. I take a relieved breath that my mom is going to work late today. I see Sako fighting to get out of the back of one car. Luckily, we are led to the other car.

Iwaizumi-san drives us to the hospital, while Daichi-san takes Sako to jail for holding. The entire ride I lean on Bokuto, and he holds onto me like he could lose me at any second. Silence filled the car until we pulled up and parked illegally in front of the hospital.

Bokuto gets out first and helps me get out after. We go into the waiting room, I sit on a hard bench with Iwaizumi-san while Bokuto goes to fill out my paperwork. The police officer tries to make small talk, but I either respond to his questions in a few words or not at all. After a good ten minutes of awkward silence, I see Bokuto turn around and start coming back to me.

He sits to the left side of me. I scoot as close as I can get to him and rest my tired, sore body on his strong body. He talks to Iwaizumi-san for a bit until the sliding front doors open for Daichi-san. He comes up to us and motions for his partner to follow him. They move out of our earshot and talk for a minute before turning around and heading back to their seats.

Daichi-san starts, “Bokuto-san, can we hear the tape now?” Bokuto nods.

“You can just set it up for us. We’ll go to one of the patrol cars to listen so you can stay here with Akaashi-san. Does that work for both of you?” Even though Iwaizumi-san addressed both of us, only Bokuto responds with a quick nod. He pulls out the phone and logs in, setting it up so all the officers have to do is press play. They walk out of the hospital.

“Akaashi.” Bokuto says my name softly. “When I found you and Sako in your room…” he pauses to steady his voice. “I-I thought I would lose you. I need you to be okay. Sometimes, actually most of the time, you're the only person who can make me  _ really  _ smile. You have no idea how much I look forward to seeing you everyday. Life without you would be like living without the sun.” 

I look at him and see his eyes focusing somewhere between our faces. “That sounds like a confession of love.” I whisper jokingly.

“I'll do that properly when you're all better, okay?” He says completely seriously.

My eyes widen. I wasn't expecting him to actually confess to me. We’re best friends, I never thought of him that way. What do I do when he confesses and expects an answer? If I say no? Will our friendship be over? Overthinking his last sentence brings me to tears. He notices and pulls me into a hug.

“Don't worry about that right now. I'll wait until you're ready.” He says.

“What if I'm never ready?”

“Then I'll never say it. That's why you don't have to worry about it.” He starts to gently mess with my hair. 

After about five minutes the officers come back in. They hand my phone back to Bokuto. “We got the recording off of the phone so now we have a copy. We also deleted the copy off the phone.”

Suddenly I think of something. “What’s going to happen to Sako?” I whisper.

“Most likely, he’ll go to prison for attempted murder. But there is a chance nothing happens to him and he gets to walk free. Although there is a  _ very  _ small chance of that happening. Once you’ve been checked out, we will need to get pictures of the injuries, and if you can get pictures as they heal, that would be helpful too.”

“Akaashi Keiji.” A nurse calls. Bokuto helps me stand up, but once the nurse sees our situation he brings a wheelchair. He walks us back to a room with a lot of medical equipment. The nurse said a doctor would be in soon then left. No one made a sound as we waited impatiently for the doctor.

After a while there was a gentle knock on the door. The doctor comes in. He is tall, and blonde. His yellow eyes hidden behind a pair of black rimmed glasses.

“Hello, I'm Dr. Tsukishima. I need the patient to take off his shirt.” the man says.

We all nod at his introduction. I lift the bottom of my shirt up, but stop after it passes my abs.

“Bokuto, it hurts. Can you help.” Bokuto was in front of me in less than a second. I let my arms go limp at my sides. He slowly and carefully liftes my right arm and slides it out of my shirt, then he does the same thing to the left. He then pulles my shirt over my head.

Dr. Tsukishima gasped. “How did this happen?”

Everyone avoids the doctor’s eyes.

“Wait.” he finally notices the cops. “Why are there cops here?” He pauses so someone has time to answer him, but no one does. “Is this guy getting arrested?”

Daichi speaks up first. “We can't discuss what happened in detail, but this man needs help so he can get back to his normal life.”

“But why do the cops need to be involved if he isn't dangerous?” Dr. Tsukishima asks.

“None of us are dangerous.” Bokuto says.

Daichi giggles. “I wouldn't be surprised if Bokuto-san hurt some people every now and then though!”

Dr. Tsukishima takes a step away from the group cautiously.

Iwaizumi speaks this time. “Oh, not in the way you're thinking, but if you hurt Akaashi, the patient, you may want to have an escape plan.” The cops snicker.

Dr. Tsukishima warily takes a step closer, glad when the black and white haired man takes a few steps back to give him room.

“I'll need to take a blood sample to test for internal bleeding, and maybe some scans. It'll take about an hour. Akaashi, come with me.”

I look at Bokuto, then back at the doctor, then back to Bokuto. He grabs my hand at the signs of anxiety. The doctor seems to notice my distress at being separated from him. 

“You can come too, as long as you stay out of the way.” Bokuto nods and follows me and the doctor out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter I'm uploading before finals start. Thank you for all the kudos, and for sticking with me while I write this. It's the longest thing I've ever written. I never expected this many people to read it. 
> 
> I'll probably post two to three chapters next week since my first day of break is Friday! I'm so exited to write all day without any interruptions!


	9. Bruised and Broken

The doctor takes us to a room that has big medical equipment. He motions for me to sit on a hard bed covered with paper. As I am getting settled I see him by some cabinets. He turns around and I see the biggest needle to ever exist.

Bokuto comes to my side and holds my head against his chest. “It's okay. He is going to make sure you're okay. Look at me.” I pull away just enough so I can see his face. “See how calm I am? If I'm calm then you know everything is okay!”

I nod and bury my face in his chest again. The sweet scent of his shampoo makes me relax almost instantly. I feel my arm being lifted up, then I feel a sharp prick, but I don't care. Bokuto is calm so I know I'm safe.

“All done.” Dr. Tsukishima says. “The test will be done in about ten minutes, so until then stay in here. And don't touch anything.” he exits the room.

“Is it okay if I call Kuroo? He’s really worried about you.” Bokuto asks. He is probably still wondering if I'm mad at him for telling someone.

“That’s okay. But can I talk to him too?”

“Of course.” he pulls his phone out and dials Kuroo on speaker phone.

He picks up the phone almost instantly. He sounds frantic and very worried. “Bokuto! Is everything okay with Akaashi? And are you okay? I know it's hard, but you guys will make it through this.”

“Well I have good and bad news, which do you want first?” Bokuto asks him.

“How bad is the bad news.”

“I guess I would say like nine out of ten bad.”

“And how good is the good news?”

“Definitely a hundred out of ten!”

Kuroo is quiet for a few seconds. “I guess I want to start with the bad news, cause the good news will make me feel better afterwards.”

“Okay.” Bokuto takes a breath. “Akaashi got beat again, and it's really bad. We’re in the hospital right now.”

“Is he okay? He's gonna survive right? What if he doesn't make it?” His voice gets louder as he screams, “Kenma, we have to go see Akaashi and Bokuto! Pack your stuff we leave as soon as I get off the phone!” his voice gets back down to a reasonable level. “We’re coming. I haven't told Kenma about the situation, but he’s coming with me.”

“Okay, it sounds like you need some good news.” Bokuto looks at me and I give a small nod. “Sako was arrested! Akaashi is safe now! All we have to do is finish the tests and leave!”

“Oh, my God. That's wonderful! Can I talk to him?”

“Yeah, yeah. You're on speaker phone.”

“Hi Kuroo.” I say shyly.

“Akaashi! How dare you not tell your best friend about what you're going through! Give Bokuto a hug and say sorry!” He practically yells at me.

“Sorry Bokuto.” I don't get the chance to initiate a hug because he starts hugging me the second Kuroo suggests it.

“Bokuto, I know how extreme you are. Let him go so you don't kill him.”

The hug instantly losens, but he doesn't let go of me all the way.

“Kuroo,” I think I shock him by addressing him directly. “I just wanted to say thanks. For everything. But mostly for helping Bokuto. And I'm sorry you had to deal with me.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” both of them say at the same time.

Right then Dr. Tsukishima comes in. “So there is no internal bleeding. But you could still have broken bones. Based on the pain you felt taking off your shirt, I think you have at least two broken ribs, maybe some broken bones on your arms. Because of this we need to X-ray those parts of you.”

He stops when he sees there is a phone out. “Bye Kuroo, we have to go now.” Bokuto hangs up really fast and puts his phone away.

“I also need to see if your legs have any damage so you have to take your pants off. If there is severe bruising there, it probably means that there will be some bone damage.” the doctor finishes what he was saying.

I look at Bokuto. “Can you do it? I think it'll hurt for me to do it.”

“Sure.” he glances at my lower body. “But you have to stand up.”

I nod and he helps me get on my feet so I can lean against a counter. After my pants are on the floor, the doctor has Bokuto help me stand away from the counter. He walks around me and touches my legs gently in certain places making me flinch. After he is done, Bokuto helps me get dressed.

“Based on the bruises on your shins, arms and abdomen, a full body MRI scan would be the best option to look for broken bones and other damages. Follow me.”

We walk into a smaller room, attached to the big room. It has a radiation warning and thick widow panes. Dr. Tsukishima makes Bokuto wait outside the room. He helps me lay on a thin, slightly padded table. I turn my head and see Bokuto with his hand on the window and sad eyes.

Dr. Tsukishima leaves the room and speaks over a speaker. “When I turn on the machine, the bed you are on will slide in. Once it starts the scan it will be loud, but not loud enough to damage your hearing.” He turns off the microphone and presses some buttons on a panel. “Stay as still as you can after the scan starts.” He pauses to double check something. “Okay, I'm going to start it now.”

I try to relax, but that just makes me stiffer. I think of things that make me calm and happy. Bokuto. I'm laying on Bokuto, not a painful bed. The loud ringing is Bokuto calling me, not this machine. I feel all my muscles relax. Then the sound stops, the bed slides out, and he is by my side again. 

“Dr. Tsukishima said we can go back to the room while he gets copies of the scan.” 

  
  


“You have three broken ribs, a minor fracture on your right wrist, and bone bruising on both shins, and both forearms. I will put a cast on the wrist. The bone bruises will heal in a week or two, but it will hurt to walk for a few days to a week. The most we can do for the broken ribs is show you how to wrap them. I have prescribed a strong pain medication.” He hands a bottle of pills to Bokuto. “Take one after breakfast, and one after dinner, about 12 hours apart. You have enough for ten days, but stop taking them when you don't need them.”

After Bokuto is shown how to wrap my ribs, and getting a cast on my wrist, we walk back to the room with the cops. They are sitting on the two chairs talking about Sako. They stop when we enter.

“If you don't have someone to live with, stay with a friend for at least a few days. Or until you can walk by yourself.”

We say thank you to the doctor and leave the hospital. “Where do you want us to take you guys?” Iwaizumi asks.

“My house.” Bokuto says and I don't argue. He tells the cops his address. In the car, Bokuto hands my phone back to me. “You should call your mom. At least tell her that you’ll be at my house for a few days.”

I nod and dial my mom.

“Hi Honey! Aren’t you supposed to be in class right now?”

“Yeah… ummm. I just wanted to tell you I'll be staying at Bokuto’s house for a little while. If it's okay with you.”

“Yes, yes. Tell Bokuto I love him!” She says almost loud enough for Bokuto to hear without me telling him.

“Okay, bye Mom.” I hang up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayy! He's okay!!
> 
> I'm going to finish this by the end of the weekend, so like hopefully three to four days.
> 
> I started outlining and writing a Daisuga omega verse fanfic. I'll probably start to post it soon after this is done. I wont have a proof reader for it, so if any of you would like to do that it I would love the help. The most I can off is that I would credit you for your work, also you would be able to quit at any time.
> 
> If you want to do it, comment and I'll share my discord with you, then I'll send you a link to it.


	10. Recovery

Bokuto helped me up his stairs and into his bed. “Do you need anything? Water, food? You can't take your medicine without eating.” he stands up. “I'll get you some toast.”

He comes back about five minutes later holding a plate with two pieces of toast. He is being trailed by Kenma and Kuroo. I look away from them. Bokuto walks up to me and sets the plate of toast down. He takes one slice and eats it himself.

I push the plate away from me.

“Akaashi, you have to eat.” he pushes the plate back to its original spot on my lap. “Come on. Just one bite and I'll let you take your medicine.” I shake my head. “Please. Just one bite.” He picks up the toast for me to eat.. “Keiji. One bite.”

He looks so desperate it hurts me. I have no real reason not to eat. I probably am hungry and just can't feel it. So I take his wrist in my hand and move it so I can take a tiny bite of crust. I have a feeling that if the situation was different, Kuroo would have made a joke about how we should just date already, but he keeps his mouth shut and watches us.

“That only counts as a bite if you're a mouse, and I know you aren’t. So five more of those, or one normal sized bite.”

I move his hand a little bit closer and take a small bite. Bokuto’s cheeks get slightly pink, which I ignore. He puts the toast down and goes to get my medicine and a glass of water from the bathroom.

Kuroo finally says something after Bokuto leaves. Kenma just makes eye contact with me, nods, and goes back to his video game.

“How’re you holding up?” Kuroo asks. I just shrug my shoulders. I don't want to talk about my life anymore. I don't want to live my life anymore.

“I'm not sorry I got involved. I,  _ we _ , just want you to be happy.” he says tilting his head towards Kenma.

“I'm sorry I caused you guys so much trouble. I know I'm not worth it. Why do you still try?” I mumble. “You should just give up on me. I already have.”

I feel a hand touch my shoulder. I look up and see Kenma, not normal apathetic Kenam. Scary, angry Kenma.

“Don't you dare say that. Have you seen how Bokuto treats you? You're his entire world! I don't know why you can't accept that some people love you and want you to stay in their lives, but you should be able to see how Bokuto feels about you. I mean,  _ I _ even noticed!” Kenma looks at me with intense eyes. No one can deny that his words hold a special power of people. Maybe because he doesn't talk a lot, or maybe just because he's so honest. But even so, nothing he says can change how much I wish I was someone else, or just dead.

Bokuto comes back holding a glass of water and the orange bottle of pain pills. He opens it for me, hands me one pill and the water.

“The doctor said they would make you sleepy, so I think we should watch a movie until you fall asleep.” He sits on the edge of the bed as he talks.

I put the pill in my mouth and swallow it quickly. I nod at his suggestion. He motions for Kuroo and Kenma to sit on the bed with us even though it can't fit us all. Kenma curls up in Kuroo’s lap like a cat, Kuroo even pets his head like he's a cat. Bokuto scoots me forwards and sits with one of his legs on either of my sids. I sit up straight not wanting to invade his space.

“Akaashi, lean back.” He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me back gentle enough to not hurt my ribs.

Kuroo picks a romance movie, even though he's said multiple times how much he despises them. I try to watch the movie, but the Kenma Kuroo cuddle session keeps distracting me. They look so cute together. I wonder if they have feelings for each other, or if they are just close enough to do that comfortably.

I feel my eyes start to get heavy. Bokuto supports more of my weight every second. My brain gets fuzzy as the pills kick in.

Right before my eyes close, “Are you guys dating?” I think out loud. Kuroo turns bright red while Kenma nods. Then my eyes close and I fall asleep.

  
  


I open my eyes to see the sun coming through the window. It has to be late morning. Warmth seeps out of something behind me. I look up and see Bokuto asleep. He looks so peaceful snoring softly above me. I cuddle closer to him trying to soak up more of him. Touching someone of my own free will feels nice.

I sit like that for a while, not thinking about anything in particular, just watching Bokuto sleep. I hear something outside. Something I'm used to hearing, but it still causes me to flinch. He can't be here. He got arrested. How did he find me? What do I do? If he sees me like this with Bokuto, he might hurt, or even worse, he could kill Bokuto. 

I try to scramble away from him but then realize the warmth behind me is gone. I try to stand up but my wrists are tied to something. The room disappears, fading to black. The only thing left is a door. It opens and Sako walks in. He doesn't say anything but he walks up to me and pulls up my shirt.

“I broke you.” He says shortly. “You're my bitch. I'll mark you, not just your body, but also your mind, so everyone knows. I could go to prison for a hundred years, but when I got out you would be waiting for me like a good toy.” he pulls a knife out from behind his back. “I'll make it so no one wants you anymore!” He lifts the knife up and plunges the knife towards me, right below my collar bone.

My eyes fly open and I sit up. I look around the room to find that it's dark, but I can still see the outlines of stuff in the room. I can't breath. I can't feel anything except my shaking. The world melts away, white noise filling the emptiness. Even though Sako isn't here, he can still control me, hurt me, hurt Bokuto. He still has power over me. I lift my hand to cover my ears.

But then I feel something foriegn, something I never feel. Big hands cover my own, something like hair tickles the back of my neck. Something heavy presses against my back.

“It's okay. It's okay. Just breathe.” A voice says. I recognize it, but can't figure out who the voice belongs to. “It was just a dream.”

The hands move away from my own. They move up and down my arms gently. I focus on the feeling. Everytime the hands move up my arms, I breathe in and everytime they go down, I breathe out, taking shallow, shaky breaths.

“It's okay Keiji.” I turn to see who this person is, no one calls me by my given name. The white and black hair and wide shoulders make me think of Bokuto. But the face this person is making doesn't fit him. He usually looks so confident and happy, but his face is sad, worried, and nervous now.

I start to mumble nonsense about nothing, and he listens and pretends to understand it. He keeps comforting me with his voice and calm touches as I come back to reality slowly. Once I'm here enough to realize what happened I look at him and see the sleepiness surrounding him.

“Sorry I woke you up.” I say. He isn't expecting it and jumps a little bit. “I'll sleep on the floor so you can sleep well.”

“No. You have to sleep here. Kenma is in the living room, and Kuroo took the floor.” Bokuto whispers.

“But I don't want to be a bother to you.” Bokuto always insisted we share a bed since we were kids even though he sleeps better alone.

“I won't be able to sleep without you.” he scoots over, making room by his side. “Please?”

I sigh and adjust so I'm beside him. He waits for me to lay down before laying on his side facing me. He instantly starts to fall asleep.

“I'm really glad you're going to be ok.” He mumbles half asleep.

I lay there, fully awake, and too scared to go back to sleep. The night passes slowly as I listen to his and Kuroo’s snoring. Eventually sleep consumes me against my will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had some really bad writers block for this chapter. I honestly don't like this chapter a lot, but here you go.
> 
> Also chapter one of my untitled Daisuga fic is complete. I'm holding off posting it until I have some more of it written and this is complete. Its one of the reasons I want to finish this in a few days. The other problem with posting my Daisuga fic is that I have no idea what the title should be. I have so many chapters outline, but I can't decide on anything.


	11. Fights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has some homophobia in it.

I wake up to a gasp. I open my eyes to see Bokuto’s mom standing in the door. She looks shocked, and I wonder why until I realize that Bokuto is hugging me in his sleep, and when I sit up, I see Kenma sleeping on top of Kuroo.

“Koutarou!” she yells to wake him up, also waking up Kuroo and Kenma. “Why are you cuddling with your friend? And who are these” she motions to the pair on the floor “people.”

He looks at her and groans. “Akaashi is staying for a while. And that's Kuroo and Kenma. They might also stay for a bit.” his voice raspy from sleep.

“Hello Oba-san.” I mumble. Kuroo grumbles something about waking Kenma up too early and they try to go back to sleep. Bokuto pulls me closer even with his mom in the room. “Bokuto let me go.” I whisper to him.

“Mmhmm.” is the verbal response I get, but he doesn't actually let me go.

“Bokuto Koutarou! Let him go before I kick all of them out!” His mom says sternly.

“Come on Mom. You ruin all my fun.” He lets me go of my upper body, but he keeps our legs twisted together under the blankets and plays with my hair.

“You can't have three boys, two of which I don't know, just show up and stay in my house without my permission!” she says.

I choose to ignore Oba-san and Bokuto, opting to watch Kuroo and Kenma since they are awake and infinitely more interesting than anything Oba-san could say..

Kenma lifts himself a few inches off Kuroo. Kuroo adjusts so that Kenma is on the floor beside him.

“When did you go to sleep, Kitten?” he whispers.

Kenma flushes a little bit, as if the answer is embarrassing “Around four, I think.” He whispers back.

“You should go back to sleep.” Kuroo whispers. He pulls Kenma close and kisses him on the forehead. Before gently making him lay down again

I look away to give them privacy and notice Oba-san purposefully looking away in disgust. I never liked her much, and she never liked me, but this makes me angry. People hating someone for who they love always makes me angry.

“Akaashi.” hearing my name snaps me out of my thoughts. I look up and see Bokuto’s face an inch away from mine. “We have to change the bandage on your chest now. The doctor said to change it every morning.”

I nod. He slides out of bed and pulls me up with him.

“Koutarou? What do you mean bandage?” Oba-san asks. Bokuto ignores her, keeping all his attention on me.

“Lets go to the bathroom. And we need to take some pictures of it too.” Bokuto says. He helps me to the bathroom. My legs feel significantly better than the day before, allowing me to walk with assistance from the wall and Bokuto’s hand on my waist. Oba-san follows us closely.

Bokuto doesn't close the door, making it so she can watch us as he helps me take off my shirt revealing the tight wrap around my ribs. He collects the bandages the doctor gave us then he turns me around so he can loosen the wrap from the back. His fingers work quickly but delicately. After it's off, he puts it in the trash and pulls out his phone.

“Can you lean against the sink and face me?” he asks.

As I turn, I see Oba-san’s reaction to my bruises and stiff movement. “How did this happen? Did Koutarou do this to you?” She says this like there is nothing wrong with accusing her son of abusing his friend.

“Mom? Are you serious? You think I would ever hurt him?” he glances at me. “But it's not my place to tell you what happened.”

Oba-san looks at me, but I lean forwards and hide my face in Bokuto’s shirt. I breathe in deeply trying to stay calm. Bokuto is calm so everything is okay. Nothing will happen. 

Bokuto stares at his mother with an unwavering glare, but she doesn't take the hint to leave.

“Keiji,” she says. “Tell me what happened.”

I shake my head, moving my hands from the counter to Bokuto’s shirt. I cling to him as tears start to form in my eyes. I don't want to think about this, I want to forget it. I  _ need _ to forget it. But I will  _ never _ forget.

I feel myself start to shake and I assume Bokuto does as well. “It's okay. I'm here.” He envelpse me in his arms, holding me tight against him. “I know it's hard right now, but it will get better. I'm here with you. It's okay, it's okay. Just breathe, I'll keep you safe.”

“Tell me what happened!” Oba-san almost yells.

“Mom! Stop! He doesn't want to think about it! Drop it before we leave!” Bokuto almost yells back.

I glance at her and see that she looks startled by Bokuto’s back talk. I see her start to turn red with anger. “Fine! Leave! I don't care what you do anymore!” She yells. “And talk your gay friends with you! I don't want that in this house!”

All the yelling reminds me of Sako, the only thing keeping me from breaking down and having a panic attack is Bokuto’s arms holding me close to him.

“Fine! Come on Akaashi, let's finish this so we can leave.” he pulls away just enough to see my face.

“Okay.” I mumble. He rewraps my chest making sure to get it tight enough to support me a little bit, just like the doctor said to. He helps me put my shirt back on and by the time we’re done his mom has moved to the kitchen.

We go back to Bokuto’s room and see Kenma playing games on his phone cuddling a sleeping Kuroo. Bokuto kicks Kuroo in the side to wake him up.

“Wake up, we have to leave.” he says after he sees Kuroo’s eyes flutter open. He moves his closet and pulls out a backpack. He puts some shirts, shorts, a pair of pants and a jacket in. He walks over to his bed and pulls his phone charger out of the wall, slipping his phone into his pocket. I glance at Kuroo and see him pulling Kenma under the covers and Kenma fighting to stay on his phone.

Bokuto notices too. “Guys, come on. We have to leave.”

They stop and look up at us. “What happened?”

“I don't want to talk about it, and don't ask Akaashi unless you want to get beaten up right now. I'm not in a good mood.”

Kuroo laughs a little bit. “I can tell. So, where are we going?”

“I don't know. I was thinking, if it's okay with you,” he glances at me, “we go to Akaashi’s place?” he says it more as a question than a suggestion. I nod to confirm that it's okay. I'll have to explain to my mom what happened to me soon anyways, and having Bokuto there to tell the story for me makes it easier.

They collect their stuff, I see Kuroo carrying Kenma’s stuff. When we get there I notice my mom’s car in the driveway. I take Bokuto’s hand for support. He laces our fingers together, and I swear I hear Kuroo say something about us dating to his boyfriend.

I open the door and let them in. My mom comes running up to me and hugs me tightly. I flinch a groan in pain. She instantly releases me, glancing around and noticing two extra people she has never seen before.

“Keiji, you said you wouldn't be coming home for a while. I'm happy to see you! It's also nice to see you Kou.” She turns to Kuroo, “Hello there!”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Kuroo says with the same enthusiasm she has. “I'm Kuroo Tetsurou.” He moves to show Kenma a little bit more. “And this is my boyfriend, Kozume Kenma.” Kenma nods but his eyes don't leave his phone.

Her smile widens. “It's nice to meet you. And you can call me Oba-san! Come on in, would you like anything to eat, we can get take out, or I can cook something.”

I glance at Bokuto for a second. “Mom,” she looks at me. “I-I need to t-talk to you. I-it's important.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't want Bokuto's mom to be homophobic, but while I was writing this, I decided that I wanted one of them to have a very homophobic parent, like Bokuto's mom.
> 
> Akaashi's mom is so accepting, she just wants the boys to be happy and safe.
> 
> Thank you all for sticking with me and reading this!


	12. Coming Out

Bokuto leads our friends to my room and then practically runs to the couch and sits very close to me. Mom looks at us with curiosity all over her face.

“Umm. I know this is coming out of nowhere, but… Im…. umm… I think I'm gay.” I start.

“Oh, I already know! That boy who always comes over, he told me once, that you guys were together. Romantically.” she says with a smile.

At the mention of Sako I start to shake. I can feel the panic attack coming fast. I look at her trying to avoid thinking about him. It doesn't work. I have too many questions. I had no idea Sako had ever talked to her. He always came over while she was at work, or we went out.

“Well, that guy he-h-he-” I stop. I can't do this. I start to shake. My hand instinctively moves to Bokuto. He grabs it and squeezes it trying to take some of my stress away.

“Well,” he continues for me. “He hurt Keiji. Like really bad.”

My choking breaths come out louder than ever. Mom looks at me and starts to get up, but when she sees Bokuto turn to comfort me she stops. He pulls me close to him and gently pulls his fingers through my hair while whispering that I would be okay, that Sako can't get to me, that I'm safe at home, and most of all, that I'm loved. I close my eyes and focus on his voice, his speeding heartbeat, the way his shirt feels against my cheek.

After I calm down, Bokuto continues with the story. “Yesturday, I caught him hurting Keiji, so I called the cops. He got arrested. I took Keiji to the hospital, he has a broken wrist, some broken ribs, and his legs are really bruised. But he’ll recover from everything. Last night I took him to my house so he wouldn't have to remember what happened to him, you know, give him time to prepare, but my mom kicked us out today, and this was the only place I could think of to go.”

“I'm glad you felt safe coming here, and thank you for taking care of Keiji.” She turns her attention to me. “Why did you never tell me about him? I wouldn't have let him come here if I knew.”

“H-he would h-have hurt y-you and Bokuto. I-I had to p-protect you guys.” I whisper.

“Well, I'm glad I know now. Also feel free to stay here as long as you need, and Keiji, if you want to stay somewhere else you can always go to your father’s, although he is less accepting of LGBTQ+, he will always welcome you, and your friends no matter what.”

I nod. Getting away from the house that reminds me of him everywhere I look would be nice. “You wouldn't mind?”

“No, of course not. I just want you to be okay, and if that means you live with your dad for a while I'm okay with that. Just take care of yourself, please.”

“I'll call him then.” I stand up and start to walk away, but I look back when Bokuto doesn't follow. I motion for him to join me, there is no reason he shouldn’t be there for the conversation I have to have with my dad. He gladly stands up and follows me outside. I dial my dad and wait for him to pick up.

“Hello? Keiji?” His voice reminds me of a time before Sako, when I was happy and could smile freely.

“Hi, Dad. I have a question.” I mumble.

“Shoot.” He says jokingly.

“Can me and some friends stay with you for a while. Something happened, and I need to get away for a bit.” I learned to keep my cool when talking to my dad. He doesn't respond to emotions well, it's one of the reasons why he and Mom got divorce when I was seven.

“How many friends, I don't have much space, but one or two would be okay.” he says.

“I think two and a half. And two of them are dating, but one of them is always playing video games, he also doesn't eat a lot, or need much of anything.” I say.

“Sure. I'll figure out how to make it work.” he says. “Do you need a ride? I can come get you guys.”

“That would be nice.” I tell him.

“When do you want me to come? I can stop by after work if that’s okay.” I can hear his excitement from the other side of the phone.

“Okay, see you later then. And thanks Dad.”

Bokuto looks at me. “Is it all good?”

“Yeah, we can all go stay at his house for a while. He is coming to get us after work. I'm going to go tell Mom, come with me.” the effects of talking to my dad still present. I take his hand and pull him back inside with me.

Once inside I see the couch that I passed out on after Sako hurt me for the first time, the backdoor he almost threw me through once. Everything reminds me of him. I turn around and walk back outside. I'm not strong enough to go back into that house full of painful memories.

Bokuto looks at me confused as I close the door behind me, but after he sees what I assume looks like pure weakness, he lets me go without question, and goes to talk to my mom. 

I know he’ll make the conversation with my mom fast so he can make sure I'm okay, so I sit on the steps by my front door and wait. I count the seconds to keep my mind from wandering back to Sako. It only takes 193 seconds to open the door and sit beside me.

“Akaashi, how about we go for a walk while we wait for your dad?” He looks at me with all the kindness in the world.

I feel something flutter in my stomach. I look into his eyes and see nothing angry or selfish. But this is how it was with Sako. How do I don't know that Bokuto won't change like Sako? What makes them different? 

Bokuto takes my hand. “Come on. Let's go so you can feel better. I don't care what we do as long as it makes you happy.”

This is one thing that makes them different. Even in the beginning, Sako never asked what I wanted, he never did anything just for me. It was always about him. Even before we started dating he never once asked me how I felt. He never cared.

Bokuto pulls me onto my feet and starts walking down the street to a park. He sits under a tree in dark shade and motions for me to join him. I don't touch him but we are close enough to feel each other's heat. He respects that I don't want to touch and waits for me to talk or touch first. He seems content to just look at me as I watch the leaves move with the light breeze.

“Bokuto, why do you care about me?” I look at a group of kids playing together in the distance.

“Well, I like how nice you are. How you care so much about other people, even if it ends up hurting you. You always make me smile, even on my worst days. I can't put how I feel about you into words very well, but I'll try until you're convinced.” He touches my cheek, making me face him. “I'll be with you for the rest of my life. Nothing will ever be more important than you.”

I look at him. “Can I tell you something?”

“Yeah, I want you to tell me everything, no matter how small or insignificant it seems.” He turns so he is facing me.

I look away from him, focusing on the kids again. “I don't know what to do. I…” I take a deep breath. This requires so much courage to say. I'm surprised I ever wanted to say this to him. “I don't like myself. I wouldn't care if something bad happened to me again. I don't deserve to be happy.” I whisper.

“Ak-Keiji, you deserve the word, and I would give it to you if I could. The most I can do though, is make sure you see how much you deserve and give you as much as I can.” He moves closer to me and gently pulls me closer into a hug. He lets me go when I try to pull away, and we sit in silence for a while. 

Eventually my phone rings and I see my dad calling. He says that he can be at my house in ten minutes if that works for us. I tell him it does and we start to walk back to my house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Akaashi's mom! She is so sweet. I wish she was my mom.
> 
> Three chapters left, we're so close!!


	13. Adjustment

It takes us a few minutes to walk back to my house. I stay outside to try to avoid a panic attack, while Bokuto goes inside to collect our friends and pack some of my stuff up.

I haven't seen my dad since my parents got divorced ten years ago. He moved away for work, and when he came back I was busy with school and volleyball. We never really tried to see each other because we were both okay just having short conversations on the phone when important stuff happened. This is going to be the first time I talk to him in person.

I only have a few memories with him. In most of them he is yelling at my mom, or telling me to “be a man.” He has no idea how far I am from “being a man.” I learned quickly to never show emotions and be logical around him.

His car pulls into the driveway as I think. I text Bokuto that it's time to go. He comes out a few seconds later being trailed by my mom, Kuroo, and finally a distracted Kenma. Mom stays close to the door and hugs me. She tells me to come back if I need anything, but I can stay away for as long as I need in order to recover.

I climb into the front seat and say hi to my dad while Kuroo, Kenma, and Bokuto get in the back seat. Kuroo and Bokuto claim the window seats of my dad’s tiny car.

Dad leans over and whispers “I thought you said two of your friends are dating, but they are all boys.”

“Yeah, Kuroo and Kenma are dating. Does it make you uncomfortable?”

He shakes his head, “As long as I don't have to watch any making out or anything I don't care what you guys do.”

At that, Kuroo moves his hand away from his boyfriend's thigh. Although he keeps their legs touching behind the seat.

“So what made you decide to come see your old man?” Dad asks, changing the subject to something less awkward.

“I don't want to talk about it.” He nods and we sit in silence for the 20 minute ride to his house.

When he moved out of Mom’s house, he moved into a tiny one bedroom apartment because he didn't have a lot of money, but after he got a job he moved into a bigger, two bedroom apartment. He made the second bedroom for me, even though I never went to his house.

The house is completely different from how I remember. The kitchen has a few new appliances, there is a new couch, facing a big TV. It's surprisingly clean for being owned by a single man who used to be a massive slob. 

He gives us a short tour. My room has a full sized bed, big enough for two people if they don't mind touching all night, which Bokuto immediately claims. He says the couch can fold into a bed, and Kuroo claims that, joking that Kenma has to find his own place to sleep, even though anyone who knows them knows Kuroo would sleep on tacs if it meant Kenma got to sleep on a bed.

Dad asks if take out is okay and we agree on getting an extra large pizza, half pepperoni, half pineapple and anchovy. How Kuroo willingly is going to eat that shocks everyone but his boyfriend. While we wait for the pizza to come, Dad goes to his bedroom/office to do some work, Kenma pulls out his phone, Kurro finds the TV remote and puts on a random romance anime. I go to my room, not surprised when Bokuto follows behind me.

The door to my room closes and Bokuto quickly takes my hand. I let him pull me to the bed where he makes me sit beside him, and almost on top of him.

“I'm okay Bokuto. You can go hang out with everyone. I don't need a babysitter.” I know he would like to hang out with Kuroo. Whatever anime was on the TV before we left the room had caught his eye.

“No. I think I need a break from Kuroo. It's nice for it to be quiet every now and then. Also I would rather be with you any day!” His smile lights up the room a little bit. I can tell he genuinely means what he says.

I look at him closely. He meets my eyes and stares at me with his usual intensity. He glances at my hand that's resting on the bed. I feel his fingers lacing with mine.

There is a sudden knock on my door which Bokuto seems to not hear because he's still staring at our interlaced fingers.

“You guys had better be PG in there cause I'm coming in.” Kuroo says.

This snaps Bokuto out of his trance. He pulls his hand away as the door opens with a slightly pink hue creeping onto his cheeks.

“Your dad wanted to talk to you Akaashi. He said it would be fast.” Then he walks out of my room and closes the door.

“What do you think he wants to talk about?” Bokuto asks.

I shrug my shoulders, He doesn't know me well, so it might be general stuff that he should know about me, or it could be about why I'm living with him for an unknown amount of time.

“Do you want me to come with you? I'll be there if he wants me or not, as long as you want me there.”

“No, it's just my dad so I'll be okay.” I stand up and leave the room. The walk to Dad’s room feels long, but I'm there in only a few seconds. The door is open so I walk in without knocking.

“Keiji, I want to talk to you about something important.” He says with his back facing me.

“What is it?”

“So, I would like to know why you called so suddenly and asked to move in. I'm not expecting the whole story, but I want to know some stuff. Also why do all of your friends have to be here too?”

This isn’t what I was expecting. “I-I…” The words won't come out. It only happened yesterday. With the feeling of Sako still fresh in my mind I freeze. Dad doesn't notice because he didn't bother to look at me. After a long silence he turns to look, probably wondering why I didn't reply quickly like I usually do.

He studies me, trying to figure out my problem. Before he can do or say anything else I turn and run out the door. I'm not doing this. Not today. The house blurs as I run for any door. Someone tries to grab me, but I slide out of their grasp and before they can try again I'm out the door. I keep running without looking back. I stop when I think I am a safe distance from the house and sink to my knees.

I sit there for a while, a few people passing by give me weird looks, but most of them ignore me. There are a surprising amount of people out on the residential street. One person stops, I don't register her face, only her words cut through my numb shaking.

“Sir, are you okay?” she asks as I stay kneeled on the ground in the middle of the sidewalk. When I don't respond she touches my shoulder lightly. I jump away and look at her like a scared puppy. “It's okay.” She says. “You look young, did something happen at home?”

My shaking gets worse at the mention of home, either the home I'm too scared of because it's filled with memories of Sako, or the one I'm too scared of because my dad wants me to remember everything I'm trying to get away from.

The woman kneels next to me. “Come with me, I won't ask questions. You can have dinner with my family. They won't mind.” She touches me again, but this time I don't flinch. She takes that as a sign I will go with her. She pulls me to my feet and leads me to her home slowly.

Once there she introduces me to her husband, and daughter. The man nods in my direction, but doesn't bother to look at me. The girl says her name is Kiyoko. She has pretty black hair, wears glasses and has a beauty mark just below her lip.

No one bothers to ask why I'm there, or who I am. They provide me with a good meal of curry and invite me to spend the night even though they know nothing about me, not even my name. The offer is tempting, but Bokuto is probably shitting himself right now because of me. The woman makes her daughter walk me home to make sure I actually go home.

On the way she tries to talk to me. “So, where do you go to school?”

“Fukurodani.”

“Are you in any clubs?” she asks.

“I used to be in volleyball, but I quit a few weeks ago.”

Her eyes light up. “What position did you play? I'm the team manager for the Karasuno Volleyball club! Are you any good?”

“I was the setter, and I don't think I was very good, but my friend Bokuto says I'm the only reason he is any good.”

“I think that means you're pretty good then.”

We fall into silence as we approach my house. I see Bokuto pacing the front yard. It only takes him a second to notice me before he bolts to my side, paying no attention to Kiyoko.

“Keiji! Are you okay? What did your dad say? And why didn't you wait for me?” He spews a few unintelligible things.

“He asked about yesterday, and I didn't wait cause I wanted to be alone.” I look at the ground. “Sorry I made you worry.”

“No, no I'm sorry. I never should have let you talk to your dad alone. When you ran out I was ready to punch him, I don't care if he kicked me out.” He says.

I glance at Kiyoko, not ready for her to know all the bad things I've gone through lately. Bokuto seems to notice the stranger because of that.

“Who are you?” he asks sceptically.

“I'm kiyoko. And who are you?” she asks very politely.

“Bokuto.” He stands up a little taller. “You can go now.”

She nods and starts to walk away, but at the last second she turns and waves to me. I wave back and watch as she goes home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kiyoko made her appearance!
> 
> Akaashi's dad is dense, definitely homophobic, but understands how little influence he has over his kid and his friends. He knows that having Akaashi in his life is more important than Kuroo and Kenma having girlfriends. He would accept Akaashi even if he knew he wasn't straight because he would rather have his kid then his kid be straight.


	14. Talking

Bokuto takes my hand and walks me inside. “Lets go talk to your dad, I'll say everything, so you just have to stand there. Okay?”

“Okay.” He has to drag me up the stairs, because even though my rational mind knows what’s happening, my feet just won't move. 

Bokuto knocks on the door. Dad tells us we can come in. He’s still sitting at his desk with his back facing us. 

“Did Keiji come back?” he asks.

“Yeah, he’s right here. But he doesn't want to talk about why he’s staying here.” Bokuto tells him.

“He can tell me why he is staying here and get it over with.”

“No.”

“Keiji, tell me.” As Dad says this, I let my hand travel to Bokuto’s shirt. I cling to it like my life depends on it. He feels this, so he keeps speaking for me and wraps his arm around me.

“He isn't going to tell you.”

“Why?”

“Because he doesn't want to think about it right now! Just let him be! If you care about him at all you won't make him relive it!” Bokuto's voice gets louder the longer he talks to my dad.

“Fine.” Dad relents turning to look at us. “I just want to know one thing, does it have anything to do with his mother?”

“No, nothing happened between them. She suggested he come here so he could get away from something that happened. You have to wait until he's ready if you want to know more.” Bokuto reaches around and holds my shoulders protectively.

Dad looks at me. He makes direct, terrifying, eye contact. I count six seconds of silence and staring before he responds to Bokuto.

“Fine. I'm just glad he has a friend like you who he can rely on. Someone he can trust with his secrets. I can see how much you care about him, and I'm thankful that you can stand up for him. And even though I want to know what happened, I will leave it alone. For now.”

As he says this, my hold on Bokuto lessens. His hold on me, though, just becomes stronger. He looks at my dad with such conviction while saying, “I'm only like this because of Keiji.” then he spins around and walks me back to the living room.

We get to the couch and see Kenma and Kuroo, mostly Kuroo, have claimed all of the places to sit except a big chair that can easily hold two people. Bokuto sits down and pulls me with him. Kenma puts on a movie, and the entire time Bokuto doesn't let go of me. Every time I adjust his grip tightens, but once I stop moving it loosens. It's like he's scared that I'll run out again.

I can't focus on the movie enough to understand what is going on. I'm too distracted by what one of Bokuto’s hands is doing. It is either playing with my hair, or rubbing circles on my upper thigh. He moves it between the two like he can't decide which one is better.

He moves to my hair once more, but this time stops moving. I don't realize why until he says good night to the couple and walks me past them keeping my face hidden. It takes me a second to realize why he's doing this. I have tears in my eyes and silently falling down my cheeks.

He leads me into my room and sits me on the bed. “What’s wrong? Did I do something?” He looks at me like he wants to touch me, but he stays a least foot away from me.

I shake my head with a smile. “You didn't do anything wrong.”

“Then why are you crying, the movie wasn't sad, and no one said or did anything.” He questions me.

“It-it's just… no one has… umm… touched me like… you were.” I mumble.

“So it was cause I was lightly touching you, and playing with your hair?” He asks with a confused look on his face.

I nod. It's hard to admit, but since I got together with Sako, I hadn’t had any real affection, and I guess it affected me more than I thought it would.

“Can I do it more then?” He looks me dead in the eyes with the most serious look I have ever seen.

I nod again. Nodding instead of using words seems to be a habit that I can't break now.

Bokuto takes a step towards me. He lifts his hand to my head, never breaking eye contact. He doesn't look scary, or intimidating. He looks kind, and it makes me want him to touch me more. I had never felt this way before, and that scares me. 

When his hand moves to my cheek I don't flinch. He lifts my head up so I face him. He looks like he wants to say something. His mouth keeps opening then closing, then opening again, but nothing comes out.

Eventually his hand drops and he says, “We should change your bandages, then we can go to bed.”

“Okay.”

He gets his bag and takes my hand so he can lead me to the bathroom. I don't know why, but he doesn't close the door, not that I mind. My dad is probably asleep because he has to wake up early for work, Kenma is probably zoned out gaming, and Kuroo is probably busy watching Kenma, so the chance someone walks by and sees is pretty small.

Bokuto takes the hem of my shirt and tugs it over my head. He then undoes the tight wrap. Once it's off, I notice how hard it makes it to breath. He reaches to redo the bandage, but I hold his hand back. I breath a full, deep breath, this first one since Sako was arrested. Bokuto notices, and careful to avoid my injuries, he surrounds me in his arms in a tight, but gentle, hug.

We stand like that until we hear a cough at the door. I look up and see my dad. Bokuto pulls himself away from me without releasing that by doing so, he exposes every little bruise on my torso. Dad notices and his mouth falls open with shock.

“How-when-is this…” He stops himself when he notices my terror. “Oh, I leave you be.” He walks out with such speed I'm surprised he doesn't trip or slip.

I turn to the mirror to inspect myself. That is when I see the three extra dark lines mixed in with the general dark bruising of my torso. The lines fall directly where I feel the most pain and I assume this is where my broken ribs are. I touch them lightly, but I still flinch. New tears form in my eyes. How can someone love this hideous, broken mess? What do people see in me that makes them stick around me even after everything? Why do they think I'm worth it?

“Keiji.” I spin at the sound of my name being whispered. Bokuto stands behind me with rage filling his eyes. “I won't let this happen to you ever again.” He rests his chin on my shoulder and holds me. “It's okay. I'll keep you safe forever. You don't have to worry anymore.”

Bokuto pulls away after a few more seconds. “Let's finish this so we can go to bed. I'm really tired. I can't even imagine how tired you are.”

I turn around and watch his hands work diligently, making sure my ribs are safe and protected. When he is done we both brush our teeth, and walk back to my room.

He claims the half of my bed closer to my door. I change into a pair of gym shorts and a loose tee shirt. Once I'm by the bed I notice Bokuto is shirtless, I can't tell if he has pants on, but I don't really care. I join him under the blankets. I stay on my side trying not to touch him.

“You know you can sleep alone, I know you don't sleep well if you sleep with people.” I whisper.

“It's only cause I'm nervous that I don't sleep well with you.” he whispers back, probably half asleep.

He scoots closer to me. I look at him just in time to see his arm coming down towards me. “Can we cuddle?” He asks after his arm is resting on my lower abdomen.

“There’s nothing I can really do about it now.” I say flatly. We fall asleep like that cuddling together, Bokuto gently moving his hand up and down my side until I fully fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, sweet Bokuto is the best! He is such a good person.
> 
> I can't believe I only have one more chapter to post! I'm so exited for the last chapter!


	15. I love you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is about a month long time skip between this chapter and the last chapter.
> 
> This is also the first time the doctor allowed Akaashi to participate in volleyball practice.

Bokuto takes my hand and walks me inside. “Lets go talk to your dad, I'll say everything, so you just have to stand there. Okay?”

“Okay.” He has to drag me up the stairs, because even though my rational mind knows what’s happening, my feet just won't move. 

Bokuto knocks on the door. Dad tells us we can come in. He’s still sitting at his desk with his back facing us. 

“Did Keiji come back?” he asks.

“Yeah, he’s right here. But he doesn't want to talk about why he’s staying here.” Bokuto tells him.

“He can tell me why he is staying here and get it over with.”

“No.”

“Keiji, tell me.” As Dad says this, I let my hand travel to Bokuto’s shirt. I cling to it like my life depends on it. He feels this, so he keeps speaking for me and wraps his arm around me.

“He isn't going to tell you.”

“Why?”

“Because he doesn't want to think about it right now! Just let him be! If you care about him at all you won't make him relive it!” Bokuto's voice gets louder the longer he talks to my dad.

“Fine.” Dad relents turning to look at us. “I just want to know one thing, does it have anything to do with his mother?”

“No, nothing happened between them. She suggested he come here so he could get away from something that happened. You have to wait until he's ready if you want to know more.” Bokuto reaches around and holds my shoulders protectively.

Dad looks at me. He makes direct, terrifying, eye contact. I count six seconds of silence and staring before he responds to Bokuto.

“Fine. I'm just glad he has a friend like you who he can rely on. Someone he can trust with his secrets. I can see how much you care about him, and I'm thankful that you can stand up for him. And even though I want to know what happened, I will leave it alone. For now.”

As he says this, my hold on Bokuto lessens. His hold on me, though, just becomes stronger. He looks at my dad with such conviction while saying, “I'm only like this because of Keiji.” then he spins around and walks me back to the living room.

We get to the couch and see Kenma and Kuroo, mostly Kuroo, have claimed all of the places to sit except a big chair that can easily hold two people. Bokuto sits down and pulls me with him. Kenma puts on a movie, and the entire time Bokuto doesn't let go of me. Every time I adjust his grip tightens, but once I stop moving it loosens. It's like he's scared that I'll run out again.

I can't focus on the movie enough to understand what is going on. I'm too distracted by what one of Bokuto’s hands is doing. It is either playing with my hair, or rubbing circles on my upper thigh. He moves it between the two like he can't decide which one is better.

He moves to my hair once more, but this time stops moving. I don't realize why until he says good night to the couple and walks me past them keeping my face hidden. It takes me a second to realize why he's doing this. I have tears in my eyes and silently falling down my cheeks.

He leads me into my room and sits me on the bed. “What’s wrong? Did I do something?” He looks at me like he wants to touch me, but he stays a least foot away from me.

I shake my head with a smile. “You didn't do anything wrong.”

“Then why are you crying, the movie wasn't sad, and no one said or did anything.” He questions me.

“It-it's just… no one has… umm… touched me like… you were.” I mumble.

“So it was cause I was lightly touching you, and playing with your hair?” He asks with a confused look on his face.

I nod. It's hard to admit, but since I got together with Sako, I hadn’t had any real affection, and I guess it affected me more than I thought it would.

“Can I do it more then?” He looks me dead in the eyes with the most serious look I have ever seen.

I nod again. Nodding instead of using words seems to be a habit that I can't break now.

Bokuto takes a step towards me. He lifts his hand to my head, never breaking eye contact. He doesn't look scary, or intimidating. He looks kind, and it makes me want him to touch me more. I had never felt this way before, and that scares me. 

When his hand moves to my cheek I don't flinch. He lifts my head up so I face him. He looks like he wants to say something. His mouth keeps opening then closing, then opening again, but nothing comes out.

Eventually his hand drops and he says, “We should change your bandages, then we can go to bed.”

“Okay.”

He gets his bag and takes my hand so he can lead me to the bathroom. I don't know why, but he doesn't close the door, not that I mind. My dad is probably asleep because he has to wake up early for work, Kenma is probably zoned out gaming, and Kuroo is probably busy watching Kenma, so the chance someone walks by and sees is pretty small.

Bokuto takes the hem of my shirt and tugs it over my head. He then undoes the tight wrap. Once it's off, I notice how hard it makes it to breath. He reaches to redo the bandage, but I hold his hand back. I breath a full, deep breath, this first one since Sako was arrested. Bokuto notices, and careful to avoid my injuries, he surrounds me in his arms in a tight, but gentle, hug.

We stand like that until we hear a cough at the door. I look up and see my dad. Bokuto pulls himself away from me without releasing that by doing so, he exposes every little bruise on my torso. Dad notices and his mouth falls open with shock.

“How-when-is this…” He stops himself when he notices my terror. “Oh, I leave you be.” He walks out with such speed I'm surprised he doesn't trip or slip.

I turn to the mirror to inspect myself. That is when I see the three extra dark lines mixed in with the general dark bruising of my torso. The lines fall directly where I feel the most pain and I assume this is where my broken ribs are. I touch them lightly, but I still flinch. New tears form in my eyes. How can someone love this hideous, broken mess? What do people see in me that makes them stick around me even after everything? Why do they think I'm worth it?

“Keiji.” I spin at the sound of my name being whispered. Bokuto stands behind me with rage filling his eyes. “I won't let this happen to you ever again.” He rests his chin on my shoulder and holds me. “It's okay. I'll keep you safe forever. You don't have to worry anymore.”

Bokuto pulls away after a few more seconds. “Let's finish this so we can go to bed. I'm really tired. I can't even imagine how tired you are.”

I turn around and watch his hands work diligently, making sure my ribs are safe and protected. When he is done we both brush our teeth, and walk back to my room.

He claims the half of my bed closer to my door. I change into a pair of gym shorts and a loose tee shirt. Once I'm by the bed I notice Bokuto is shirtless, I can't tell if he has pants on, but I don't really care. I join him under the blankets. I stay on my side trying not to touch him.

“You know you can sleep alone, I know you don't sleep well if you sleep with people.” I whisper.

“It's only cause I'm nervous that I don't sleep well with you.” he whispers back, probably half asleep.

He scoots closer to me. I look at him just in time to see his arm coming down towards me. “Can we cuddle?” He asks after his arm is resting on my lower abdomen.

“There’s nothing I can really do about it now.” I say flatly. We fall asleep like that cuddling together, Bokuto gently moving his hand up and down my side until I fully fall asleep.  
Chapter 15: I Love You

“Akaashi!” Wataru calls for a set. I get under the ball, time seems to slow down. I see Bokuto and Washio moving to block Wataru. I set the ball to him anyways. He needs to be able to go against a triple block after the third years graduate. He jumps and spikes. Bokuto’s hands are in the ball's path, but Wataru hits before he is ready and the ball goes through. He hits a perfect line shot.

“Good job Wataru!” I jog to him and give him a high five.

“Thanks, that was a good set! How are you this good even with a month long break?” He asks.

I shrug and glance at Bokuto. “Can I have a high five?” he asks.

“You can have a high five it you win the set, but I doubt that will happen. Me and Wataru make a great team!” I say with a teasing smile.

“Just wait, we’ll catch up! Right Suichi?” He says while turning to his setter.

We go back to the game. We end up winning two out of three sets. Suichi seems to be better than before I left. The entire team seems different though, like they don't need me anymore.

As captain and vice captain, Bokuto and I stay to clean up the gym. We put the balls away, pack the net up. I stop sweeping the floor, giving my almost healed body a break. I feel my feet leaving the ground. I'm spun around and moved a few feet over.

“Hey, I really missed playing with you. I'm really glad you came back to the club.” Bokuto says.

“Me too. But it doesn't feel like I'm needed anymore. Shuichi can set really well now.” I step out of his grasp. “Now let me finish sweeping so we can go home.”

He lets go of me and goes to collect our stuff from the club room. I stop sweeping once he can't see me. The smell of the gym, the sound of sneakers against the floor, the volleyball hitting the floor and walls, it all makes me feel safe. I close my eyes and stand there, relishing in the joy I can now feel. I don't know how much time passes, but eventually, hear the door open.

“You're still not done sweeping.”

“Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“It's fine. What were you thinking about?”

“Umm. I just feel so… I don't know? Happy?” I look out the gym doors. “But I still have flashbacks, and panic attacks. I'm still not free of him, but I feel better.”

“That's good. And can I finish sweeping? You're taking so long!” he pouts.

“I guess it can't hurt to put you to work before you get sick of me!” I joke.

“You think I'll get sick of you? Just wait until I tell-” The coach interrupts him.

Coach glares at us from outside the gym. “Hurry up and go home before I drag you out of there and make you!”

We tell him we’re almost done and we’ll lock up so he can leave. After he goes, Bokuto takes the broom from me and finishes sweeping. I watch as his biceps and back muscles flex with each stroke of the broom. I never realized until now, but he really is like an angel. He is way too hot and nice to be real. Just existing like that should be illegal.

“Stop staring at me Keijij!” I feel my face heat up getting caught staring at him. He laughs it off and walks up to me. “I'm joking, you can look at me all you want. I do the same to you, except I don't get caught doing it.”

My face feels like it's on fire. “I-I, no. I wasn't!” I mumble without making eye contact.

“Whatever, let's get out of here.” He takes our stuff in one hand, and my wrist in his other. He drags me out of the gym, lets go of me long enough to lock up and put the key in his bag, then his hand is back on my wrist. He pulls me until we are off of school property but he walks at my pace after that.

I don't notice when, but after about seven minutes of walking, he has our fingers entwined between us. The slightly more intimate contact makes the butterflies in my stomach act up. I wiggle my fingers a little bit and he lets go.

“Sorry.” He mumbles turning his head away from me.

“Bokuto.” I reclaim his hand making him slowly turn to look at me. “It's okay. I don't mind anymore.”

We walk hand in hand a little longer. My dad’s house is a thirty minute walk from school, whereas my mom’s house is ten minutes away. The silence that fills the air on our long walk isn’t awkward. It's actually comforting to be able to be with someone, but not have to talk, and still be able to understand what they want in that moment. Right now, all Bokuto wants is to keep his tight grip on my hand, and I'm pretty sure he knows that's also what I want.

Turning the corner I see strange cars parked outside the house. My feet stop moving even though I tell them it's okay to keep walking. The only thing that keeps me going is Bokuto’s feet, which also stall. But he starts walking, actually picking up speed until we reach the door. Without knocking he charges in like a feral animal ready to kill something. He stops when he sees Daichi and Iwaizumi, the cops who arrested Sako.

I see them at the same time and cower slightly behind Bokuto.

“Ah, hello Akaashi-san, Bokuto-san.” Iwaizumi greets us. My dad looks at me with a look of shock and utter confusion.

“Hey.” Bokuto replies. I just peak my head out and make eye contact.

“We just came to update you about the situation. It was kind of hard to find you though. We started at the address we dropped you guys off at that night, and a woman directed us to your mother’s home. She said she hadn’t seen you for a few weeks and gave us this address. I'm glad we finally found you though.” Iwaizumi says cheerfully.

“Let's get to the point though, Hajime.” Daichi says. Then he turns to me. “Would you like to speak here, or would you rather take this outside?”

I point to the front door. They nod and follow me and Bokuto out. Probably the only reason Bokuto came with me is because after seeing the cops, my grip on his hand tightened. Thankfully he stays by my side and pulls me closer once the door closes and Dad can't see us.

“So,” Daichi starts. “We were just testifying at the trial for Sako. Those pictures you sent us before your bruises healed were one of the major deciding factors in the sentence. The fact that you had been injured so badly there were bruises even three weeks later.”

Iwaizumi cuts in. “We just wanted to inform you to tell you what sentence he got.”

Daichi takes over again, smiling happily as he talks. “He got life sentence in prison, with no bail or parole! You never have to see him again or worry about him! Just enjoy the rest of your long, happy, life!”

My arm goes limp. There is very little stopping my collapse to the sidewalk, it's mostly that, when my arm went limp, Bokuto leaned over and took most of my weight in his arms. We just stand there with our mouths slightly open, staring at the cops in shock. I expected Sako to get some amount of prison time, but to know that he has no way to get out makes my brain stop working.

“I told you they would do that.” Daichi says with his usual cheerfulness. I look up and see Iwaizumi grumbling about something and handing Daichi some money.

“You made a bet!?!” Bokuto almost yells.

“Well of course we did. And I was right!” Daichi shamelessly states.

The cops say their goodbyes to us and get in their separate cars to leave. We stand on the porch for a little longer than necessary. I turn to Bokuto and see a big smile, bigger than any I've seen since the Sako incident happened. I feel a smile creeping onto my face. Bokuto wraps his arms around my waist and spins me in a few circles.

“You did it Keiji! I knew it would be okay!” He says as best he can with his head buried in my shoulder.

I laugh at him. My first real, loud, happy laugh since I started going out with that bastard. Bokuto notices and pulls away to see the joy plastered all over my face. The sound of a door opening cuts it off.

“What’s going on? If the cops are involved you have to tell me.” Dad says.

I take a step closer to my friend. “Can we talk inside?”

“Sure.” He turns around and leads us inside to the living room. He motions for us to sit, we do, opting to sit as close as we can for protection. We have no idea how my dad will react to everything.

Bokuto starts to explain, but I interrupt and take over. I explain how Sako and I met, what happened during the first stage of our relationship, before we started dating. I slow everything down, and let the memories flow.after I explain how Sako asked me to date him my dad stops me.

“So, are you gay then? Cause you dated a boy. And do I have to worry about anything between you and him?” He weakly waves in Bokuto’s direction.

“I think I’m bi. I think girls are attractive, but I think guys are too. I think I like guys better though.” I glance at Bokuto. “You don’t have to ‘worry’” I say it with air quotes, “about Bokuto. I can trust him. He's a really good person, and anyone would be lucky if he liked them.”

I look at Bokuto and see his ears have a pinkish hue. Without prompting, I continue the story. I include things that I left out when I first told Bokuto. The severity of my fear, the pure rage in his hateful eyes, the way he would smile at my pain. All of this brought more shock and guilt into Bokuto’s expression.

When I'm done with the story, my dad sits there in the chair across from us, silent in shock. Bokuto puts his hand on my cheek and makes me look at him.

“I'm so sorry. It's my fault this happened for so long. I should have realized what was happening to you.” He sniffles and looks me in the eyes, while tears slowly form in his. “I feel so bad that I didn't do anything until it was almost too late! Something really bad could have happened and I just sat back and watched it happen!” He tugs me into a tight hug, trapping my arms by my sides. I let him wet my shirt with his angry, regretful tears.

“You didn't do anything wrong. I should have told you what was happening sooner, I just felt so-so helpless and it scared me. I'm really happy you helped me before it was too late though, and I'm happy you're still sticking with me.”

“Umm.” Dad’s voice snaps Bokuto out of his sorrow, he still holds me, but his head is facing my dad. “This is why you came to live with me, right? Because you were scared of your mom’s house? It's also why you couldn’t tell me what happened that night.” His questions turn into statements more than questions.

“B-but it's all okay now.” Bokuto whispers. “Sako is in prison. You can move on now.”

I nod and smile showing my teeth. “Yup!”

Dad goes back to his office to finish some work. Bokuto and I sit in happy silence. He moves over so I have more room to get comfortable. I use the space to pull my feet onto the couch, spinning slightly so my back is against his shoulder.

“Want to watch that college game right now?” He asks.

“That sounds nice. Do you want any snacks? I'll get them while you set up the game.” I ask fully prepared to go get anything he wants from the kitchen.

“Sure. Do we have any popcorn? And energy drinks!” He says excitedly.

“I'll make some, and yes. Energy drinks!” I say the last part just like he just did.

I hear him say “Yay!” as I walk out of the room. I find the popcorn and put it in the microwave. While it starts to pop I start the long hunt through the disaster my dad calls a fridge to find the right drinks. The microwave beeps signaling it's done and I finally find the right drinks, grape flavor for me, and cherry for Bokuto. With everything in hand, I make my way back to the living room.

Bokuto moved to the far right side of the couch, leaving me with two cushions on his left side. Sitting on the edge seems lonely, so I sit right next to him. I hand him his drink and the popcorn. I set my drink on the table in front of the couch and lean my head on Bokuto’s shoulder. He wraps his arm around me and pulls me closer without looking away from the TV.

“This is nice.” I whisper without thinking.

Bokuto sets his drink on the table and uses his free hand to pull my chin so I have to look up at him.

“You know that thing I said at the hospital?” I nod to him without really thinking about what he just said. “Then are you ready for me to ask?”

I freeze, even though it looks like much since I'm sitting pretty still already, I would bet Bokuto can tell what happened.

“I guess not.” He sounds disappointed.

I take a deep breath. “Bokuto.” His head snaps so he looks down at me. “I'm ready, and I know how I'm going to respond.”

He looks at me. “What about your dad?”

I shrug. “It's his problem.”  
Bokuto nods. He pulls me closer and lets his gaze wander back to the college volleyball game playing on the TV. I lean my head on my chest and breathe in his calming scent, leaving the conversation there.

About halfway through the second set, I feel Bokuto adjust under me. I look up and see him staring at me instead of the game. I reach up and touch his cheek gently.

“Is everything okay?” I ask.

He ignores me and leans closer to my face. Once we are almost touching, he stops. “Can I kiss you?” His ears get pink just like I always notice they do when he gets nervous.

I lean my forehead on his, this time I ignore his question. We hold eye contact for a few seconds before he closes the gap between us. Our lips touch lightly. He leans towards me pushing me closer to him, I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer.

He pulls away slightly, “I love you.” he whispers.

“I love you too.” and this time when I say it, I actually mean it. I feel complete for the first time in my life as I accept that I do, in fact, love my childhood best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is just a bit longer than all the others.
> 
> I'm so thankful for all of you reading this. I'll be posting the first chapter of my Daisuga omega verse fic soon, hopefully within the next week. I'm off school, so I'll be writing a lot over break (unless I get writers block), not that school seems to get in the way much as it is (I seem to be more motivated to write when I'm using it to procrastinate homework and stuff).


End file.
